Motif of Sacrifice
by Eduardo Amador Amazonas
Summary: A world torn by war, but no culprit has been found. A group of four young men has set off to bring their homeland back to stability. As they press forward together, the seemingly perfect crew finds itself lacking. A high price must be paid for the redemption of their world. Will they pay it? This is the story about a young Yoshi man, Josin. A fanfic based on the Yoshi species.
1. Prolouge

**Prologue**

A tale surges from the obscurity of the Mushroom World, which transcends from the farthest reaches of a distant, nameless galaxy.

My name is Eduardo Amador Amazonas, former guardian of the Yoshi Kingdom and the Trian Republic of the East, in an unnamed planet. I am a rather elderly yoshi, but feel young as ever. And now, even in my old age, I am guardian of the unnamed galaxy which I hail from, a position I have filled for 100 years. My age… you probably won't believe me, but its 547 years.

Anyway, the story I will now commence is true in all accounts, and occurred 180 years ago; that year of war, the 15th to be exact, made a difference to the lives of many. In fact, why don't I tell you all of those accounts that I remember so well? This will probably take a while, so please, have a seat, and make yourself at home. Let us travel back in time to an era of turmoil.


	2. Chapter 1 – Four Friends

**Chapter 1 – Four Friends**

"Hey Kino! Gramps! Phello! Hurry up! We have been summoned to the castle by the chancellor, and we're almost late" said Josin, as he hurriedly dashed to the parliamentary palace.

_Josin Zyuki is a yellow-green yoshi, 21, and lived with his two loving step-parents since he was 3. Although he wanted to further learn his stepfather's trade of carpentry, he was enrolled in a university which also hosted elemental martial arts school. Although he was a little upset, he set his eye upon a new opportunity for adventure that had opened. He does not have memory of his infancy, and yearns to know who his real parents were and what their fate was. A responsible and observant yoshi, he is a free-style fighter with lightning powers._

"Easy for you to say! You are not fat!" yelled Dolphinius, whom all his friends call Gramps.

"_Grandpa" Dolphinius Whalidor is a dolphin from the blue dolphin clan in the province of Dolphonia. His underside is white and the upper parts, fins and tail are black, similar to older males of his clan, hence the nickname. At 20 years old, he is the youngest of six, brother of the governor of his home province, and son of a top counsel member of the Royal Advisory Parliament. Somehow, he is naturally overweight, and takes pride in that, a engages in events such as sumo wrestling and polar dives. He also attended the same martial arts school as Josin. As a dolphin, he has a natural affinity of water._

"We wouldn't be late if it wasn't because of a certain someone who was flirting with the ladies, who he can't ask out properly!" snapped Kino, who gave Salemence, also known as Phello by his friends, a poisonous glare. "Well," replied Phello, "I was not the one making some random girl phone book!"

_Dr. Kino Arcie Tola is a bilingual Toad from the war ravaged country of Toadal. He recently finished his doctorate in medicine at the age of 18, making him the youngest doctor of the continent. His father lost his business when war struck upon the nation a little before Kino was born, and thus lived an impoverished life since. Kino was taught to never lament his misery or live bitterly, since he still had his life, and there was always hope for a better future. Being a pupil of the late Esgard Vega, ice guardian of Toadal, he learned the "Ice Scalpel" and other ice techniques that aid him in his job. The oldest of three, he became determined to help his father and country, and came to the Yoshi Kingdom to study medicine. Unfortunately, his biggest weakness is the opposite gender._

_Salemence "Phello" Yoshan is the prince of the neighboring Kingdom of the Yoshans. He is a 21 year-old kyogonian, second child of three, and graduated a wind fighter, from the same school as Josin, at the same time. Kyogonians are beings similar in structure as a yoshi. However, unlike yoshis, kyogonians' skin colors are naturally in red, orange, and white, are more muscular, have a rounded square nose, harder colored skin and sensitive white skin, have non feathered, dragon like wings, and have genetic differences that make interbreeding impossible. Furthermore, they are unable to get drunk, have a very serious demeanor, and are relatively calm and collected, except in battle, where they can go all-out. Phello, however, is very energetic with a flamboyant life-of-the-party persona. He is a rare blue kyogonian that has a great sense of honor and without a second thought will risk his life for his loved ones and friends. He is friendly and usually hugs all of his friends, especially if they are girls. However, his fun personality accidentally lands him into trouble; it can be said that a simple conflict he causes ends in multiple riots. _

"We're here," panted Josin. A shadowy, familiar figure approached the entrance of the palace. "We have been expecting you," said the being, "Please make haste and follow me this way." The four young men followed this man, who continued saying, "Dolphinius, you need to train on land more. A slow reaction will lead you to danger." "I understand, father," Gramps replied. Josin whispered to the man, "Mr. Kogia, what are we to do? I thought we were invited here to work for one of the respectable counselors, or to have some individual job each." "Josin, there is so much to tell you, but we, as the royal council, will tell you the most pressing news. But let us arrive to the appointed place and discuss there more comfortably."

The five men arrived at what seemed to be a courtroom. It was lavishly veneered, since it was the room of the most respected group of people, who gave advice to whoever the current monarch was. The four young men sat in chairs surrounded by 21 more chairs, each with a counselor from every province of the kingdom except the most populous province, which had two counselors. Kogia Whalidor took his seat next to Thomas Clarin, the chief counselor, who began to speak. "Josin, as you already know, it has been 18 years since we have had no king, and 15 years since the continent was besieged by war. It is fortunate that the war has not passed into our kingdom. However, many of our southern and eastern allies have fallen, and the few that remain can only hold their ground. We have secured our borders and are sending continuous aid to them, but our forces have not been able to help them advance, only to retain their land. We have caught word of the 4 you; you are all elite fighters and I know you will…"

"Wait! Hold the phone!" interrupted Kino. "Aren't the Twelve Guardians supposed to guard the continent in case something like this happened? Honorable Vega instructed this to me with action." Kogia rose from his seat and said, "I will take it from here. I am the only one of the respectable counsel that, to some extent, knows and understands the situation. 19 years ago, Honorable Amazonas said he needed to go to the forbidden and perilous northern continent, Nortimia, to bury certain dangerous items so nobody would use them for evil. He also needed to find a group of people. Well, he left a replica of himself in the continent with 1% of his power, in case a great malice came to the land.

"That malice soon came when the previous generation of honorable guardians was being assassinated, one by one, in a cruel fashion. And to make matters worse, 8 rulers of the diverse nations of our continent were displayed publicly as dried skeletal remains, and 2 others were able to get rescued but died anyway from lack of life force. I am still lacking key components to these murders, but to my understanding, whoever is doing this absorbs their life force into a sphere, and if enough is taken, they will die. Currently, only 2 guardians are live, Honorable Amazonas and the pupil of the previous wind guardian, Gale; and the monarch of the southernmost kingdom has gone missing, or else he would have met the same fate as the other rulers. If Honorable Amazonas was completely here, he would have known the entire situation already."

"So, all we have to do is find the mastermind behind this, bring him to justice, and stop his invincible army to save the entire continent? Sound like fun!" Kino said a little sarcastically. Phello and Gramps were meditating a bit on the other details, with Phello stating, "Is it not a severely punishable taboo to display any dead remains outside a funeral? Even the villains of the past did not try such an abomination!" Gramps continued, "So Phello's dad and my uncle were the two that were 'spared', so to speak. My brother then took the governorship…, father, why the governor of Dolphonia?"

"Dolphonia is the only province within the Kingdom of the Yoshis that had the opportunity to become independent, but remained under the monarchy during the time of succession. So naturally, my older brother was also a target. Well, resuming this discussion, the enemy has stated that they need the essence of the king gone missing and of the missing prince of the Yoshis, who went missing after the king sacrificed himself to assure the prince's safety. Young gentlemen, all 4 of you must find the missing monarch and then undermine the plans of the mystery mastermind."

Josin rose from his seat, with a face full of determination and security. "Mr. Kogia, we will not let you down!" he exclaimed, "We will need to recruit at least 4 others, since we really do not know our enemies forces. They can be 100 or only just a few. We will do our best to bring back the continent to its former stability. Our only request is to be sent equipped with supplies and any information as to where we should start looking."

Kino then also rose from his seat and looked at Josin while saying, "Josin, you are forgetting fine details, like 'What about the yoshi prince?' and 'How are we going to cross secure borders freely?' " Kogia smiled and said, "Do not worry about the prince. We will see to his whereabouts, so do not burden yourselves with finding him." Clarin discreetly gazed at Kogia when he mentioned about the yoshi prince, as Kogia continued, "As for the latter, we have three passports we will supply you along with you other supplies. Prince Salemence is originally from another kingdom, so we will just renew his."

Thomas then quickly fixed his sight upon the four young men as he said diplomatically, "Young gentlemen, we recently received news from the monarchy in the insect kingdom of Siyactus, that a blue yoshi woman has flooded the port town of Sea Swamp. We contacted General Guillian, High Commander of the Army from the Yoshan Kingdom. He has agreed to join you after he has completed his mission. We will contact the Special Divisions of the West Trian Republic Army to see if we can gather more support. With this, at most you should recruit one more person. After the swamp mission, you must investigate and act on your own. We, the 21 royal council members, will trust and support you, young men. If you find out anything concerning the plans, identity, or other information regarding the mysterious man, report to us as soon as possible."

"We will. Thank you for you help," said Josin. As the four were leaving, Phello jumped out of his seat and yelled, "I know the perfect candidate for recruiting: my sister, Sheila. She should be graduating in a couple of days. That should give us time to cook up a strategy and rest up for our grand adventure." "If a girl is coming, I am totally in!" exclaimed Kino. Finally, Gramps stood up as well, and said as they were leaving, "Well, at least there will be someone who look and smell great among us ugly, musty guys." Phello added, "Is that good for her, or us?" The laughter that promptly ensued after they left the chamber slowly disappeared the further they went.

Once they were gone, one of the council members dashed to the door of the room and locked it. From the shadows of the room, two figures came into the light; a slender, orange yoshi with silver wings and a wooden flute, and a very tall, broad-shouldered fellow, covered from head to his boots by a robe, showing only his mysterious right eye lightly enveloped in shadows. Strapped to his back were a large oboe-like instrument and a golden staff with a large question mark block fixed onto the top.

"It seems that we were not noticed, eh?" asked the orange yoshi while playing a distant melody. The other being replied in a rumbling but tranquil voice, "It wouldn't have mattered if they did. At least they accepted the job. By them going discreetly, they will be able to take them out without arousing suspicion from our enemy faction. Anyway, Lord Kogia, you did well in keeping 'that' a secret."

"You are welcome," Kogia responded, "To think that you'd come here personally at the right moment." "Yes, I do not know the entire situation, so I will continue to investigate. In the mean time, I will inform you of all that I could confirm."

All of the counselors, especially Thomas Clarin, were dumbfounded and perplexed at what was going on. He suddenly broke the silence by saying, "What is the meaning of this? Why are you two suddenly here? And you, Kogia, must have a good explanation as to why you did not tell Josin he is the son of our former king, Zelaya. The one and only prince!"

"It must remain that way until the time is right," replied the stranger, "What if they talk about it, even if they are 'alone', and that information waltzes into the ears of our enemies? Or maybe, they will just reveal it accidentally. They will then become a target of our unknown nemesis, and if he succeeds in his plan and takes Josin, even its effects may not be able to be reversed. So, we must 'play' in the shadows for now until we know for sure what we are aiming at."

"I suppose you are right," replied Thomas. Calmly, he says, "Let us get comfortable once more. Please tell us what you know." "Respectable counsel," stated the stranger, as the orange yoshi took a seat, "Please pay close attention."

**Fanfic Facts:** -When I first came up with these characters years back, it was for my personal Mario Party based board games, yoshi style. You could say a childhood personal universe.

-When I decided on Salemence's name and color scheme, I later found out about a pokemon almost by the same name and colors. I decided to keep things the way they were.

-The Yoshi and Toad species are invention of Shigeru Miyamoto. The Kyogonian race is, as I'll write later, a "Yoshi rip-off", and an invention of mine. The word is a mix of the Japanese words for dragon and dinosaur.


	3. Chapter 2 – Hidden Evil

**Chapter 2 – Hidden Evil: The Twelve Guardians?**

Across the continent, in a location in the Yoshi-Kyogonian Mountain Range, we find a building ingeniously built within the mountainous terrain. One is not aware of the existence of a structure and may simply walk by, failing to realize the menace these mountainsides possess.

Going within this building, a shadow is seen sitting at a table, eating a bowl of ramen. As we approach this stranger, we see a strange but faint golden-green aura enveloping this fellow. As we see past the shadows, we see it is a male green-yellow yoshi, with unusual eyes. They were slit, and his scleras were orange; his veins, however, were defined. In his left hand was a pair of chopsticks.

Another figure appeared in a shadow behind this man. A violet hand suddenly rises into the light with a gun pointing at the green fellow. A shot echoed throughout the place as the gun was shot. Surprisingly, we hear the first stranger say, while holding a bullet with his chopsticks behind his head, "Psy Meyers, you already know that attacking me with metal is futile." "Well there, Asunaro, I hope I haven't 'poisoned' your meal," responded Psy, who fully came into the light.

_Psy Meyers is a tall, violet colored, male yoshi. He is seen wearing a knee-length black robe, a black mouth mask, a blue conical hat, blue slacks, and leather sandals. His fore arms are invisible, giving the impression of floating, purple hands. He has a penetrative gaze, both eyes being bloodshot and the veins very pronounced. He has three black, gill-like marks under his left eye, which give a further appearance of anger. He is discreet and slightly reserved by nature, speaking mostly only to his colleges and to his foes that ultimately get killed by him. _

"Our meeting will start soon and our leader will come as well. His coming will prove he has valuable information." "I hope you are right," responded Asunaro, who stood up and was completely revealed to the light. "This ramen will be cold by the time we are done, so I'll just get rid of it now. Oh, and don't call me by that wretched name! I am to be called Venom." Without a word, Psy turned and went toward the meeting place, just as Venom touched the wooden table. The table started bubbling and slowly melted into a radioactive heap, along with everything on top of it.

_Asunaro "Venom" Bujic was the son of the former president of the now militaristic nation of the dragons, Narangati, a vast meadowland of orange flora. He willingly became an experiment for the nuclear corps, thinking his father had given consent for him to do so. In fact, it was all a con to get rid of the current president. After he successfully became a nuclear being, he became aware that his father was uninformed of the program and that if he got close to his father, he would instantly kill him. In a fit of rage, he emitted enough energy to destroy the plant, and then exiled himself with one of the scientists who also became aware of the full situation quite late. When he learned to control and suppress his new powers, he rushed to the presidential palace, only to watch in horror the desiccated remains of his father displayed publicly. That feeling worsened when he returned to his place of exile to find his trusted friend in a pool of blood, and has ever since lived a life of bitterness. He later joined the Twelve Guardians so he could cruelly murder everyone who made him miserable or who just stands in his way._

Psy, who felt what just happened with his powers of darkness, stated, "Just as cruel as always. I like that about you. Let us hurry to the appointed place." After a while, both men entered a well lit room with 12 seats arranged in a circle. Eight yoshis were already seated, and a figure appeared, though the form and identity were unknown. This figure greets them, "You two! Quite a show you did to only come here." "Yes sir, please forgive this here thing for deciding to eat before a meeting." Before Venom could snap, the yellow yoshi rose from his seat. "Venom, we don't need another show here. Both of you, quickly to your seats." The figure got closer to the ten yoshis and said, "Thank you, Bolton. Now that you are all here, I will tell you the latest before hearing your reports.

"The king of the destroyed flower kingdom of Pinka has been spotted in the Yoshi Kingdom. Flora, I trust that you will be able to slip by unnoticed and catch him in the capital. He will most likely be going there." Noticing Psy's discomfort he continued, "And Psy, you must still be on the look-out for Eduardo and Gale, both needed to be killed at all costs, as well as making the allied forces recede. You are better known throughout the continent than anyone else here, and having you out in the open is out of the question. The yoshi prince has not been found yet, so everyone, try to do your best to locate him as soon as possible him.

"Moving on, Guillian of the Kyogonian army and his special battalion are located somewhere in the cursed dragon country. Their tour there is almost over and Guillian will soon report back at the Kyogonian capital. Llunami, you already destroyed a port town close-by, so you should go over there and give him a splashing welcome. I am sure that getting rid of him will make our victory even more secure. The same goes for the Yahiman siblings. I last heard that they split up when the brother was on his way to the city of Oaisia, in the deserts of Kuril. The sister is probably on her way to the volcano Crater Heights to collect pumice for their ingenious artillery. Bernard, you go to the volcano and capture her alive. And you, Petra, lure him out of the oasis and ambush him in the ghost town nearby.

"E, cause some chaos in the yoshi capital by disappearing something valuable. Vapour will assist you. Venom, stir up the people of the West Eastry, province, a province of the Yoshi Kingdom. A rebellion will sure be a handful, and you will do that perfectly. I and Bolton will still search the Temple of the Binary Stars. We have almost found all the information to access this temple. Bolton may be able to enter though a shortcut and finalize our plan. Finally, we will…"

"I'm not doing anything yet." Ten pairs of eyes lay upon the most freshman member, a sky blue yoshi named Azure. The figure, keeping his composure, replied "You will assist anyone who needs help. Now, everyone, I want to hear you reports."

After a while, the meeting ended and everyone went their ways. Llunami is sitting on a couch, while Azure and Bolton engaged in a conversation. "Since I am the most recent member, I really don't know the purpose of our gang or anything about my colleagues. Why are we after the continent's monarchs, why did we kill the previous generation of guardians, and what is our goal now?"

"First of all, we are not a gang; we have a purpose of greater good. For now, I can't answer most of your doubts," said Bolton, "but in due time, it will be revealed. We don't know much about you either, other than you joined us because you agreed with our deeds. I will tell you, however, the reason why we all work together as a team; we all have had a bitterly painful experience in our past that not even the entire world cared for us, even a little. On that note, here's a little about everyone.

"The blue yoshi over there is your partner, Llunami; I am sure you already knew that. The green-yellow yoshi is Asunaro Bujic, but goes by his alias, Venom. He has now twice been exiled from his homeland and thinks his entire family is dead. Flora is the pink yoshi that left first. She escaped her fate of death, but ended being a slave… no, worse than that, and escaped her servitude many years ago. She is a valuable asset to our clandestine missions. The pale, red-purple yoshi, he is Vapour, [Azure points at the seat where Vapour sat in during the meeting.] yeah, he was pushed into a cursed pond and abandoned in the wilderness by his supposed friends. He's had Ichthyosis ever since; he fell in and came out like that. Petra, the brown yoshi, is a wild girl who practically raised herself, as no one took her in but us. It is hard to imagine a childhood where everyone didn't want you, kids and adults alike."

A red yoshi passed by, and shoved both Azure and Bolton, while exclaiming, "Out of mah way, junks!" Azure was surprised at such hostility. "Oh yeah, that is Bernard Rinfier. If you are not stronger than him, I'd avoid that insane man of malice. The thing that broke his sanity is the loss of his parents. That's the reason he always works solo. The black yoshi with a white face and palms is E, but he is still shrouded in mystery to even the most senior members. I guess our leader saw something in him that our minds might have forsaken. The violet yoshi is my younger brother, Psy. Then there is the leader …and me." Bolton looked at his watch and said with a sigh, "Search time is here again. I would like to stay and chat, but for our plan to blossom, I must leave now. Later." In a flash of light, Bolton disappeared just as Azure tried to ask something.

He whispered to himself as he scowled, "He didn't even tell me the leader's name or anything about himself." At this time, Llunami stood up and went over to Azure as he looked at the ground with meditative irritation. "Don't get annoyed over little things, Lil' Bro," she said in a somewhat enthralling tone, while holding his chin. "He's a swell guy once you get to know him, he's just too busy. Did you really need to ask about older bro Bernie?"

"Yes, I know about him, sis," responded Azure, lightly shrugging off his sister and turning away, "It's just that he is not the same brother I used to know." Llunami continued saying, "We have all been changed due to a circumstance, or many at that. Life for all of us has been a like living hell itself, and even though we sought help everywhere, it is thanks to our leader that we live united as one. He took us in and will lead us into a new period of prospect. Yeah, we had to sacrifice lives here and there to make this dream possible, but you'll see what glorious future will await us soon. Well then, I must do my part as well. I'm goin' back to Sea Swamp and start planning there. Go back to your mountain and train to kill time. I promise I'll be back to celebrate our victory." They embrace; then, Llunami forms a bubble around herself and floats away. Azure left the room as well.

From the shadows of the room, Psy stepped out and thought to himself, "My brother is clever, and his timing couldn't have been better. It would not have been good if he told that dolt about himself, me, or the leader. Our plan must never be revealed to the underlings. Holding too much power can offset the plan very askew, and Azure looks like a big-mouth that might slip some rumors around. However, he seems to have some highly valuable weapon at his disposal that has piqued my interest. Regardless of that, I must hurry and leave right away. The assassinations of Eduardo Amazonas and Gale must commence now."

**Fanfic Facts:** -My inspiration for the 12 Guardians goes a little like this: a little after Yu-Gi-Oh stated to air, I wanted to do my personal yoshi card game, using Mario items as well. I did my entire cast, including 12 unique yoshis, each with different elemental abilities; and later, when I discarded the card game idea for board games, I made 12 different maps, each yoshi being the boss of their respective map that matched their element.

-If you (the reader) are the type of person that likes to imagine what they read, all the yoshis in the story walk upright like humans, have five fingers, and have no saddle/shell/red backpack thing/oversized back fin that is comfortable to ride/anything you what that thing I'm over exaggerating to be.

-For those that don't know, Ichthyosis is a family of skin disorders that either exhibit dry, scaly or flaky skin.


	4. Chapter 3 – Battle Plans

**Chapter 3 – Battle Plans**

Back in the province of Dolphonia, at one of Dolphinius' houses, the four young men await the arrival of Phello's sister. Dolphonia is a located in the tropical region of the world, but due to an unusual phenomenon in that place, it is a frigid area. Phello is freezing at this house, while Kino and Dolphinius were fooling around across the room, and Josin was near the fireplace brewing some tea.

A shivering Phello called out, "Gramps, why do you live in a cold place? My home city is about in the same longitude as this place, but it is a tropical paradise. I am freezing in this icy hell!" "If you don't like it, you can leave while we entertain your sister and leave without you," Kino responded. Gramps then said without hesitation, "I invited all of you to come to my warmest house. Our mission needs a strategy, and Sheila is going to come at any time, so we need to include her in our plans." Josin quickly interrupted, "Gramps, how can you say all that with a straight face?" All but Phello started laughing.

A knock is heard at the door. Gramps opened the door and saw a pink yoshi girl. She was dressed in a brown plaid, knee-length skirt, and a slender, short-sleeve white blouse under a brown coat, which hid her curvaceous body. She carried her bags inside and said, "Hey Sal, everyone. You must be Dolphinius Whailidor, and rich at that; your house is huge, kind of like ours back home. But enough of that, how can you stand this cold?" "Yes, that is me, but you can call me Gramps," responded Dolphinius, "And, I have been blessed with my abdominal goods, so weather like this is no problem. Anyway, I am rich since most of my family is politically important, but I try not to think about it much or pretend to be someone important. Seeing that I'm actually gonna do something of value makes money seem less significant. Doing this job is much better than looking like an odious, fat, rich kid sitting back, stuffing cake in his face." Phello started choking on the cake he was eating when he heard his friend, prompting him to bang on his chest with his right fist.

Kino, after seeing Sheila and her beauty, went over immediately, grabbed her hands, and said kneeling on a knee, "Grand and beautiful flower of nocturnal sights. Please allow me to…" Before he finished Phello punched him into the floor and took Sheila's luggage. She was perplexed at the manly communication, prompting Dolphinius show her inside. As she sat down, Josin turned around while saying, "Who likes green tea with honey? Get it while it's still hot." When he saw Sheila, he backed up the upper part of his body, and gave a confused look to Phello. "Phello," he started, "Uh, you and her… uh, she's your sister? You're a kyogonian guy and she's my kind, a yoshi. Could you care to connect those dots for me?"

Kino stood with a lump on his head and uttered, "Maybe Phello had wings sewn onto his back and got plastic surgery on his nose to make it squared." Phello ignored Kino and said, "She was adopted a couple days after my mother passed away during child birth; my blood sister was stillborn. A yoshi woman collapsed at the gates of the castle with Sheila in her arms on a cold day. She stopped a soldier who happened to be patrolling there and gave her to him before passing away from exhaustion. And well, that's the story. But don't think because you're my best friend and she is only my step-sister that I'll give her to you that easily."

"You know me better than anyone, Phello," responded Josin, "Duty before hormones. In any case, now that Sheila is here we need a plan and then reach the eastern border in 3 days. So, before getting down to business, Sheila, please tell us about yourself and what abilities you posses, if you do not mind telling." Sheila responds, "I enjoy cooking, being neat and organized, and like to have a good time after a day's work. Although I prefer covering from a distance through archery, I did study close quarter defensive techniques in the university, though fighting at all isn't my liking. I am horrible at healing wounds. I am so bad, that I remember that one guy I put a clean band-aid on a simple cut; it was utterly infected the next day. Maybe the guy forgot to wash his hands after using the bathroom, who knows. I **was** looking forward to be in a relationship with a respectful guy after leaving college, but I guess saving our world is more important."

Josin was quite impressed at her honesty. Gramps blankly stared at the ceiling and said, "You know, now that I think about it, why does this kingdom let us young folks study martial arts in a university? Then again, since our planet is so huge, and this kingdom is home to a trillion…" Kino interjected, "Who care's about that! She's what I expected and more." Phello quickly gave Kino a deadly stare, in which he promptly responded, "Hey, Phello, lighten up. You are not your usual cheerful self looking at me like that." "I'll be fine if you stay and protect me, Sal," said Sheila, "But you and Julian are always so overprotective." "Who names their kid by a name soiled by villains in the past?" snapped Kino, "Your pops was not a history expert, was he?" Phello was annoyed, and wearyingly answered, "No. My bro goes by Guillian in foreign countries though."

"Thanks for the news," replied Josin, "That will save us from useless conversations in the future. So, back to the plan. We do not know our enemy, or his or her purpose in the assassinations. All we know is that 10 heads of state and 11 guardians of the previous generation were murdered, and have two suspects." Kino immediately said, "If we study recent events up to 15 years ago, we might see a pattern." "I agree," said Gramps, "and if we can connect the dots that we can, we will probably get a better picture of what we are aiming at."

"Good," replied Josin, "but, before we study the enemy, we must plan our formation and strengthen each others weaknesses. We must be careful of enemies that have powers we do not have. Kino is the doctor, so keeping him safe is everyone's top priority. You should probably stay back with Sheila and lie low; you should help her in case you guys are discovered and ambushed. Sheila may seem like the weakest, but with her long-range attacks and her defensive abilities, she will be able to cover us very well and stay out of trouble. Phello and I are the quickest. The strongest at close range are Gramps and I, and Phello can battle best at mid range. Gramps works best near water, and Phello can fly swiftly and silently as a shadow."

"Aren't you the smart one," said Sheila. "Maybe," Josin replies, "but it wasn't always like that; my childhood was not the most fun or infantile. I nonetheless thank my step-father for raising me well." "Yeah, whatever. But I gotta say that I love this formation," said Kino while he smugly glanced at Phello, who is obviously disturbed by the comment. "How I see it, it has no flaws," said Gramps. "True," responded Kino, "but if you remember what the counsel said that it is suspected that a blue yoshi woman flooded an important port city in the insect kingdom. Assuming she has such powers herself, it could prove to be a tough battle." "Yes, and like here, the insect kingdom of Siyactus has an unusual climate; it is actually hotter and moister that the tropics," said Phello, "and the blood-sucking Culexian clan like hot and moist.

"But before leaving, we should… THROW A PAAARTY!" "And then what, have the dolphin police come over to stop the riot taking place at the house of the governor's youngest brother?" retorted Kino. Sheila giggled and Gramps laughed while Phello blushed, upset once again that his rival burst his bubble. "Phello," Josin said with a laugh-like smile, "you just have that luck of accidentally causing not just a fight, but a riot at whatever party you go to." "Is this a 'pick on Salemence because we want to' show, hosted by the ice pick perv, or are we going to plan our strategy?" said Phello. Josin simply replied, "We just did both." After an awkward silence, they all burst out laughing. Josin continued saying, "All I am trying to say is that you should try taking things more seriously. You are going to be a king and having you act like this will tear you kingdom down in less than one hour." Phello immediately crouched in the corner, depressed and embarrassed.

Kino got up and bumped his left hip into Gramps (his left leg is slightly longer). "I think Phello is right though," he said, "after we finish the master plan, we should celebrate, and then head out." "Aaurgh, you stupid shroom!" yelled Phello, "Why go through all this just to agree with me?" "Because it is fun…and I like seeing your annoyed face," replied Kino. Phello then seized Kino by the shoulders and started fighting. Josin just face palmed and said while Gramps tried to split up the fight, "This always has to happen, and we have not had a party yet."

After the commotion calmed down, Josin said to his three bandaged friends and Sheila, "OK, we have the plan completed. We will readjust it as we get new members. Remember, we do not know our enemy clearly, so we must keep our presence as unnoticeable as possible, just like the council wanted." "Alright, Josin, I agree with this plan. It's great," said Sheila, "but, what about our enemy? I just landed here, fresh out of college and still in the dark on some things." "We can start with an overprotective blue kyogonian," replied Kino. "And a perverted, womanizing death cap with pathetic excuses for ice picks," snapped Phello.

Sheila chuckled a bit, and this time, Josin started to show a little frustration. "You guys," said Gramps, "I am not going to step in if you make Josin angry." "Then don't, fatty," responded Kino, "besides, if I end up in the hospital, you all will have no doctor, so lighten uhuhuhuhuhuhuh…" but he could not finish his phrase, as Josin grabbed him by the shoulder while emitting thunder from his hand and saying, "_A-3 Volt_!" Kino collapses on the floor and utters, "OK-ay-ay, I'll be-e-e qui-i-i-et." "I happen to like being fat. You know, girls like fluffy," said Gramps, "It's just that… I… I'm…"

Sheila proclaims with a smile, "I am sure you will find the right lady some day!" Gramps blushes as Josin finishes off the meeting, "To be honest Sheila, we do not know our enemy well, either. We are trying to connect the dots ourselves too. From what we can deduce, ever since Honorable Amazonas left, the organization that carries the duty of protecting the continent, The 12 Honorable Guardians, has been hijacked and possibly 11 beings are behind the horrible attacks. We could, to some extent, confirm at least two, a blue yoshi lady with water powers, and the evil yoshi of dark energy, Psy. We are heading tomorrow to the borders of the Yoshi Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Yoshans, to then make our way to the insect kingdom of Siyactus. We may find this blue yoshi there.

"Now, I was looking forward to have a classic Phello party minus the riot, to fool around a bit before leaving, but we have casualties, so let's order some pizza and watch a movie." "How about that one reality show from some distant planet where the red plumber saves that peachy woman from some fat turtle? You know, the one where he is riding your distant relatives?" asked Gramps. "Which one?" asked Phello, "There are so many of those cliché re-runs, and they always end with him getting kisses on a cheek or a cake. Even the titles have no originality!" "Sal," chuckled Sheila, "You are making me laugh too much today! You got the whole collection back home; you just love watching them."

"Ha, just teasing, sis," he replied, "I just like joking around and not be such a lemon like our big bro." "You said that so seriously," said Josin, "I wonder what will happen when you assume your throne as a king." Phello immediately blushed and got depressed, while Gramps went to the phone to order. Kino painfully went to a couch and said, "I vote for Super Mario World. I have never seen it." "Actually, I was raised without a television," said Josin, "So it is my first time as well. Hey, Phello! Stop sulking and come over. You'll miss it!"

**Fanfic Facts:** -The size of the world where this story takes place can be comparable to the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter. Having a trillion citizens in a nation within a planet that big seems more "logical."

- Culex is the genus of mosquitos and the name for the awesome secret boss for Super Mario RPG. So, Culexians are basically the mosquito clan.

-The Siyactus Kingdom had originally a different name. Its present name, however, gives a more insect-like feel.


	5. Chapter 4 – High Commander Guillian

**Chapter 4 – High Commander Juli…uh, Guillian**** (Bilingual Chapter)**

Around the same time, in the north easternmost corner of the dragon nation of Narangati, we hear the male shriek of pain. It comes from a medical tent in the camp of the kyogonian army. Their tour in Narangati is complete and the troops are resting and healing before returning home.

A couple hours ago, the Elite Regimen Special Ops was attacked by one of Asunaro's underlings, in hopes to take down General Guillian, High Commander of the Army. After a long and brutal battle between this man and Guillian, Guillian obtained victory. One man of this special battalion was ambushed and had his reproductive area contaminated. Guillian, being a swift flyer, rushed his soldier to receive medical treatment. Seeing the doctor was busy with other wounded soldiers, he reluctantly decided to detoxify the poisoned soldier himself.

Male kyogonian white skin runs from the neck area down to the private region, and is quite sensitive to touch. Guys can not suffer other guys touching their white skin, usually feeling complete disgust. This obviously gets taken up a notch with their privates; medical procedures involving that area include screams of suffering. Guillian had a couple of his men pin down the soldier as he is about to begin. Being a soldier of many years, seeing others in their birth suit does not bother him, but he sure hated every second of the procedure. As he is cleaning the organs, this soldier gets stiff in pain and absolute discomfort. He is clenching his teeth to the point that his gums bleed slightly.

"Put up with this pain," said Guillian in a relaxed tone, "If we had not done this now, you would either be dead or childless."

"It hurts so badly, sir," responded the soldier, whose eyes rolled back in pain.

_A little about Guillian. Julian Yoshan is a red kyogonian male, a prince. He is extremely muscular and tall, even for a kyogonian. The fins on his back and wings are orange. He enrolled in the military since he was 15, and has served for 18 years. He leads the Elite Regimen Special Ops, the top fighting group of the kingdom, as well as the entire army, and has been since he was 25. He became a loner and extremely stern after the loss of two generals, friends of his. He is respectful, but too blunt sometimes. He seems to be guarding some secrets pertaining to his family and past. Since the name Julian has bad fame on countries outside the Kingdom of the Yoshans, he goes by Guillian in those countries._

As Guillian was finishing, a female soldier came in to report, but was greeted by the backs of the male soldiers who were holding her fiancé down. Guillian declared in the kyogonian language, "Por favor espere y regrese en cinco minutos para darme el reporte. Estoy terminando el tratamiento de este soldado."

"¡Si, mi general!" she said, and then left.

A little later, Guillian said in the kyogonian language, "Descansen todos, ya acabo el procedimiento." All the soldiers let go of the healed guy. As this soldier was panting deeply, another jokingly exclaimed, "You sure are lucky; you can still have a family." "No hables en el idioma de nuestros aliados," another one said, "No todos somos bilingües."

Guillian went to the sink area to disinfect his hands, and told his regimen in the kyogonian language as he washed his hands, "Caballeros, excelente trabajo. Nuestras sospechas de nuestros enemigos se han confirmado, pero, para no atraer al enemigo, ustedes asistan a nuestros aliados de acuerdo a las órdenes del concilio. Se me ha informado que mi hermano y otros jóvenes van rumbo al reino de los insectos y ocupan mi presencia. Me uniré a ellos allá para poder lanzar un contra ataque. Por ahora, regresare a la capital para informar al concilio. No tenemos tiempo de celebrar, pero comamos."

While Guillian was leaving the tent, the female soldier returned and gave her report. Sensing her concern for her suffering fiancé underneath her emotionless façade, Guillian told her, "Dama, usted hizo un buen trabajo en nuestro régimen. Fue un honor tenerla. El esta descansando ahora. El tiene suerte de sobrevivir esto."

"Fue un honor mas grande para mi de ser digna de participar bajo sus ordenes directas, general. Con su permiso." She went to the bed where the soldier covered with sweat was laying; Guillian left immediately.

He found a tree stump near the outskirts of the camp and sat upon it, fixing his gaze at a certain location. The most elite soldier in his regimen, John Carlo, came with a covered platter and two others came with a table, quickly setting it in front of their commanding general. As soon as the others left, John Carlo put the dish in front of Guillian, and said, "Sir, I know you are vegetarian, so I personally ordered your food to prevent what happened last time. I am sure those soldiers got a great beating by you, one that they'll never forget."

"Juan Carlo," Guillian responded, "Thank you for being such a loyal soldier. You are someone I can trust, ever since Abelardo and Celeste passed away."

"You are very welcome, general. It is a special privilege for me to work under your direct orders. My techniques improved tenfold, no, even more under your leadership."

"Juan," responded Guillian, still serious, "you know you can call me Julian. You are a close friend of mine."

"I can't do that; I still respect you as my superior. Besides, even if you were not the general, you are still a prince."

"I appreciate your honesty. That is why I hold you in high esteem. But, you seem to want to know something."

"Yes, sir, if you do not mind telling me. I have noticed that you face the same direction when you rest outdoors. Do you miss something?"

Guillian, although expressionless, is bothered by the question. However, he responds, "I trust you, but I can't tell you that. At least not yet. All I can say is that a long time ago something important happened in a place, towards that location." "I understand, sir. I will leave so you can eat in peace."

"You are dismissed," responded Guillian, as he prepared to eat his meal.

As he was eating, the doctor stationed at the camp came over to him. He was an older kyogonian, whose pale skin color revealed him to be not so young. His expression was one of a calm but proud parent. He seems a bit tired and is wiping of the sweat from his brow. "Sir," he said, "you did a job worthy of an experienced doctor. A bit rough, but excellent nonetheless."

"General, you do what you gotta do," responded Guillian rather unemotionally, "Besides, I've been in worse situations while on tour. War is certainly not a respecter of anyone."

"Sir, I am no longer a general ever since I retired to serve full time in the medical unit."

"My apologies, I always forget. Seeing you again reminds me of the four of us, the dream team we were back in the day before we split up to become leaders."

"I could tell you are still hurting under that expressionless face. You have been looking at that direction for the past 5 years is because of **that**, right?" Guillian, who is still expressionless, remains silent.

"Do not worry, sir. I have not and will not tell anyone. Anyway, I just came by to tell you that I checked the soldier you treated, and everything came out good." Before leaving, the doctor said, "I do, however, apologize for my intrusion."

"Doc, think nothing of it. Letting my emotions die is the only way to cope with my internal pain."

After the doctor left, he thought to himself while eating, "After this, I will part to the capital. It will probably be difficult for the council to declare war against the 12 Guardians. But our investigations during the tour confirmed the worst and as soon as we receive the intel from the Yahiman siblings, we will all finally know more about the motives behind the mass assassinations. Hopefully, I will find out who the top dog is, and when I do, I will annihilate him. For now, I will make my way over there, and as soon as I can, plan accordingly with the council." When Guillian was done with his meal, he quickly went to his temporary office. He dresses in his elaborate general uniform, and goes outside. He jumps up about 5 feet into the air, and begins his flight to the capital of his kingdom.

The day becomes night, and suddenly, we arrive changes to the battlefield where Guillian last fought. The dead body of Asunaro's henchman is seen in a quite a beaten state; a pair of orange, reptilian eyes open in a shadow cast by a rock formation nearby. Asunaro and Psy come into view under the light of the moons.

"I never thought I would return to my native homeland," said Asunaro a bit nostalgic.

"Venom, you have such weak garbage as underlings? No wonder you can't get anything done."

"Psy, you cocky jerk, all you have done is keeping the heat off the leader, making yourself known. But I'll agree that this, one of my weakest, is trash. I only sent him to test Guillian's strength and because he loved torture, to the point of a slowly and painful death. That's why I liked him. Guillian is strong, but we are stronger still."

"Yes, we know he can't challenge us, Venom, but he knows too much about us, and must dispose of him quickly. But neither both of us is fast enough to catch him, and all of the swift yoshis are already in a important mission, so I'll just forward Llunami to take care of him."

"I hear Vapour and E are going to be successful. Their scheme is just about the stupidest thing ever, but it sure's sending chaos where they're at. But anyway, Psy, get rid of the body; I'll get rid of the evidence."

"Sure thing," said Psy, as his eyes changed from blood shot to silver. He then extends his hand out while uttering, "_Void Eternal_." His pupils went from round to an ellipse shape, his left extending vertically and his right going horizontally. A distortion of space appeared behind, taking in the dead body in its dark void.

"Psy, leave and do as you please. I must level this place." Psy vanished in a smoke-like shadow. Asunaro, extending his arms, exclaims, "_Hirosaki Bik-des_!"

**(Starting this chapter, ****Fanfic Facts** will be called **Fanfic Trivia**.)

**Fanfic Trivia:**

-The "kyogonian language" is indeed Spanish.

- Venom (Asunaro) was born and raised in Narangati, a country famous for its orange everything (well, almost).

-I am not very familiar with military ranks, but in the story, High Commander of the Army is only second to the current king, who is the Commander in Chief.


	6. Chapter 5 – Phello's Secret

**Chapter 5 – Phello's Secret**** (Bilingual Chapter)**

In a graveyard in a city of central Yoshan, Phello is seen alone in front of a certain tombstone. He is holding a bouquet of violets, and is wearing formal clothing instead of his usual garb. The name on the tombstone belongs to a female kyogonian, but before the name can be seen, our sights are paneled onto Phello's face.

In his mind, he is thinking, "Hey, it's me again. No one else knew about us. I brought you your favorites. Ever since I left the kingdom to study abroad, I made you the promise to return to you when ever I was finished. Sometimes, sacrifices must be made for the advancement of the greater good, but I never thought that would include your life taken away from me. I do not see the good in this yet, but I am sure somehow I will; it has to happen. Regardless of this, I am so glad that we met. Rest in peace, my love."

A tradition of the kyogonians, is when someone is loved a lot or held in very high regard, one would lean on their loved one's left shoulder and place their right hand on it; their left hand would be swiped on the right shoulder and stopped over the end of the shoulder blade. The loved or respected person would then embrace the other. Phello, because of his height and time constrain, couldn't lean on the grave. He places the flowers on the grave, and puts his right hand on it and swiped it with his left. He gives the tombstone one last affectionate look before leaving. As he leaves, he thinks, "One must take these bitter paths alone, and bring happiness to everyone they know. Josin always cares that I become a good king; I'll show him that I can. I got to admit that it's difficult. I must hurry; they are waiting for me."

In a hotel nearby, inside the cafeteria, we see the 4 others having breakfast.

"Hey, you guys know where the blue party psycho went?" said Kino, "He is missing all the great food."

"Phello said he was going to an important appointment he had once we reached this village," responded Gramps.

"He left early this morning, dressed very formally," said Josin, "so it must be very important to him."

Kino said immediately, "He must be going on a date with some unlucky girl." "You seem to be ignorant of the kyogonian traditions," said Sheila, while Kino grabbed his heart and said in response to Sheila's comment, "That hurts." She continues, "Even in urban areas, kyogonians are very homely and quite old fashioned. Of course, the man openly courts and tries to woo her until he succeeds. Not a single secret about their love was unrevealed to the world."

At that time, Phello came in and told everyone about his constant sneezing and wondered if someone was talking about him.

"Actually, we were talking about you," said Josin, "We were just wondering where you went. It is not like you to be responsible, and to be dressed in some garb like that." Phello immediately gets depressed and embarrassed, and thinks to himself, "No matter how hard I try, Josin always gets to me right here. Why do I enjoy being a party guy so much?"

"Come on, Phello, cheer up," said Josin, "I know it is not like you, but you are making progress."

"Maybe this time, his kingdom will last an entire day, maybe," said Kino, making Gramps snicker.

"That was mean," replied Sheila, making Kino grab is heart even more in a comedic fashion. Phello sighs and takes a seat at the table.

"Josin," said Phello, "you always get me where it hurts the most. But that frankness is what makes me respect you, unlike some idiotic people with an 'I'm a young Ph.D.' attitude. Anyway, I needed I walk in the countryside. I have not been in my kingdom for the 8 years that I studied abroad, plus the two that I stayed waiting for Sheila."

"And you did nothing else?" asked Kino mischievously.

"I went to a flower shop to, uh, smell kyogonian violets. They are on season."

"But why did you dress up just to go flower shopping?" asked Gramps. Phello started sweating a bit.

"I, uh, went… to an important reunion, and then to, um, a park, and, uh, rested, near a certain rock. It was quite soothing to be honest."

Kino jumped out of his seat and told everyone, while bumping his left hip on Josin, "Then let us all go there, too. A little more relaxation before continuing our journey is not such a bad idea. Was there a lake close to this rock? A dip in that lake would surely be perfect."

"Kino," Phello responded nervously and without delay, "not everyone can go to that park. And besides, there are many rocks like that one. I wouldn't want to give away my favorite one to you all."

"Well, that settles it," said Josin, "I guess we continue our journey. Besides, we need some supplies to be ready for this water-filled place we are going to." "Yes, let's do that," said Phello. Everyone else nodded their head.

On their way to an item shop, they went past a graveyard. Phello tried to act as calm as possible, while Sheila said, "This is the memorial grave site of this town, founded 4 years ago before I left to study abroad. The folks from here tried to hold back a master of flames trying to assassinate my father, the king. Many lost their life, but in vain unfortunately. I urged the advisors to erect a memorial, but they decided a memorial grave site in the center of this city would be better. They said it would not just honor a particular person or thing; all those innocent lives lost would rest together as equals. But we can't just go inside; we need special permission to go in."

Josin turned and noticed that only one grave had a bouquet a violets and the rest had either an assorted color bouquet or a white one. He thought to himself, "Phello has been a little fidgety about talking of what he did this morning. Violets, a 'park,' soothing, reunion? Did he lose someone he held dearly, or even loved? I don't want to hurt him more, so I will just stay silent about this."

Gramps noticed Josin's meditative façade, and asked, "Is something bothering you?"

"Gramps, do not worry about it, but thanks for your concern."

Josin spots the shop and exclaims, "Oh, the shop is right over there!"

"Race you all," said Phello while taking the lead.

"Not fair!" yelled Gramps.

Phello did not notice the frost forming at a short distance from him. He steps on the ice, and flips in the air before landing on his face. "Right behind you," said Kino jokingly as he passed Phello.

A small tornado forms in front of Kino and whirls him inside uncontrollably. "Ha!" yelled Phello.

Two jets of ocean water blast both into the distance. "Sheila, you better get used to this," said Gramps as he wiped his mouth dry, "We are all friends, but when you combine two very similar people, well, you get, this."

Sheila stood in disbelief as Josin yelled, "You two are always like this! What are you guys, 8 years old? When will Gramps and I get some peace and quiet for once? All your fooling around for the past 10 years has almost always gotten us in trouble!"

"OK, Josin," said Sheila, with a little concern, "Kyogonians of the countryside rather peaceful. Please do not stir them up or they'll start pouncing." A small crowd of serious folks was starting to form, to which Josin responded, "I apologize for my rudeness and my friends' behavior."

As soon as the entire crowd dispersed, they were approached by a white kyogonian man. He had a winged anchor tattooed on his right arm, and his brawny physique just craved a stray look. He wore loose sweat pants and a sleeveless shirt, a sign the he was a kyogonian merchant. "You must be the 5 youths on your way to Siyactus. Please come to my store to stock up on supplies."

"¿Rodolfo, eres tu? ¡No sabia que eras de estas partes!"

Kino and Gramps were astonished at hearing Phello speak the kyogonian language, since they had never heard him speak it before. "Ay, Salemencio," he sighs, "siempre causa un alboroto a dondequiera que va. Espero que sus amigos le estén ayudando a ser un rey de honor y dignidad."

Phello dropped his head in shame and embarrassment. "Excuse me sir," said Josin, "do not worry about that; I am his friend that helps him. It is just that this detail is something we are still working on. But, please show us the way."

As they made their way over, Kino whispered to Josin, "I thought I was the only bilingual guy of the group. Though, I speak my country's language."

Josin responds, "Kino, Phello is originally from this kingdom, so no real surprise here. I took 4 years of it in high school."

"So Sheila and me are the only unilinguals?" asked Gramps. "I know a little," responded Sheila, "As a matter of fact, my father told me he wanted me to be his ambassador to the Yoshi Kingdom when I came to age, so I decided on learning one language only."

As they spoke, they all entered a white building. Josin had not noticed that the owner had stopped to give them a small tour of the place and bumped into him. This sends shivers up Rodolfo's spine, and quickly turns around with an angry gaze and ready to pummel Josin. Sheila quickly steps in front of Josin, astonishing him with her swiftness. Rodolfo stops his fist and says, as he lowers his arm, "Discúlpame, princesa."

Phello whispered into Josin's ear, "Don't worry. White kyogonian guys are extremely sensitive to other guess touching them; that's why they go over the top somewhat."

"That stinks, I guess," replied Josin, "The overreaction has a motive."

And just as if nothing had happened, Rodolfo shows them around the store. After insisting to pay for the goods, the party is invited for dinner at Rodolfo's house, only to politely put own the offer. The five then start walking, with Dolphinius asked Phello, "Who's that?"

"A friend of the family as long as I can remember," replied Phello, "He got married a year after I left to study abroad; he retired to inherit his late mother's store. He was a sailor from the 2nd naval unit."

"You know many people, don't cha?" said Kino.

"It's good to know you have reliable contacts over here," said Josin. "We will be better prepared. Anyway, we've rested well; now let us head out for this place. To Sea Swamp!"

**Fanfic Trivia:** -Kino's name was influenced by Japan's name Toad, Kinopio.

-Guillian's name was originally spelt without a 'u'. After researching the name, I found that it was mostly a girl's name, but I liked the name I gave him, so I added the u.

-Kyogonian men who are albino (all-white) feel more disgusted even by a simple tap by other guys. The exact opposite is true when touched by women.

**Author's Corner:** Hey everyone, Ed here. I am really interested in more reviews to write a better tale for you leisure time. Probably the only time I'll do this in-story; I know it's annoying. On a better note, thanks to all who have reviewed, and to all of those who took their time to read.


	7. Chapter 6 – The Enemy is on the Move

**Chapter 6 – The Enemy is on the Move**

Far west of the continent where toads, yoshis, kyogonians, and such live, there is a sun-shaped continent with many surrounding islands. It is called Zooland, a large continent like the Yoshi continent, but has only 3 nations, unlike the 11 "Yoshi" nations. They're the circus land of Soleria; the wolf country of Lubonia, where the canine beings called Canisians live; and Davibir, land of the Bir-Davians, the avian beings.

We see a village up in flames in Lubonia. Bolton and his boss were finishing off some Canisians of the Lubonian clan, the alpha clan of the country. "These pups do not know either," said the leader, "But well, if we had to exterminate this 400-member village for meeting this resistance, it was for the greater good. All the beings of this wretched world must turn to a global leader who will lead them into a glorious century of peace. For now, we must sacrifice those lives that do not wish to uphold our peaceful ideals."

"Sir," responded Bolton, "I highly doubt that any one on this continent knows anything of what we're looking for. All of our answers must lie within our native continent."

"Bolton, there are two important artifacts located in these parts, the Warp Sphere and the Stonewall Key. We must hurry to find both of these before Eduardo returns. If he comes back soon, we may not be able to infiltrate the forest maze."

"I understand, sir. But what do both of these items do? And are you sure that ultimate secrecy, even within the organization, is good? Some junior members have asked our purpose already, but I, as for my promise, have not told a soul yet."

"Good, we must stay quiet about it still. When I recruited you and Psy on that day, when I told you two my plans, and it is you two, the only ones out of many, that I can trust to be able to accomplish them, even if I'm not around. No one else knows, therefore no one will speak, and everything will proceed as smoothly as possible. As for the two items, they are essential for making our plan go to fruition much sooner than expected.

"The sphere, when placed on a secret mushroom warp pipe located in the Yoshi Kingdom's Forest of Tall Mushrooms, can let us decide where to transport to, even the farthest reaches of our universe. As for the key, it is a piece of wall the size of a pillow. I'll tell you how it is to be used in due time as soon as we find it. It seems someone was not taken out earlier."

They step over to where a heavily injured Lubonian man was and Bolton grabbed him by the furs of his head. "You heard way too much right now," said the leader.

"I do not know what you are talking about," the man responded, "But, my brother will now know of your atrocities you did here. A messenger was dispatched during the commotion. The doing of a yellow yoshi and a… BLAARRGH!"

"As I just said, you know too much," said the leader, as he stabbed the man, and punctured his right lung.

Bolton then said as the guy was breathing even more heavily, "I'll ask you once more, and I might let you live. Where is the Warp Sphere Shrine?" This man, in agony, replied gaspingly and hesitantly, "We…have… not seen this… place you… speak of for… ten…years. It… sank… into the… ocean… when we were struck… by… a massive… quake. Two miles north… of here."

"So you did know," responded Bolton, "I was going to let you live, but you are at the end of your life, so I'll just end it as painless as possible. Farewell, village elder." Bolton's eyes turn lightning blue, and then he exclaims one of his attacks, "_Eel Shock!_"

The scene switches to a distance, where the messenger is running as fast as possible to reach a village in the west. A sudden flash flickered behind him; and he turns around to be greeted a great distance away by a bright yellow and blue wavy dome of light. This messenger, with a tear, thinks to himself, "Sir, I am sorry I could not protect you as I should have. I should have disobeyed, but your able brother must know, so I'll hurry to him."

The scene returns to a leveled village, with Bolton, the leader, and a wolf-shaped charcoal at the epicenter. "I thought it would be painless," said the leader with a smirk.

"I **did** say as painless as possible; that was one of my weakest attacks," replied Bolton, "Besides, we must leave at once to prevent getting followed. Let us go to the shrine at light's blinding speed." They both suddenly depart like a flash of light.

Back in the Yoshi continent, out of the shadows, Psy delivers Venom, E, and Vapour silently into the Yoshi Kingdom, at the coast of the western province of Delta. E says, "Psy, thanks for bringing us here noiselessly; from here Vapour and I will go north, and Asunaro will go south, just as planned."

Venom prepares to strike E as he yells, "I've already said it's Venom!" E claps his hands together and faces his palms towards Venom, making Venom stop right before landing a hit on E.

"You know what will happen if you dare to try and hit me," said E, "so you better start respecting me… Asunaro." Venom could only clench his teeth in anger, realizing E was correct. "Anyhow," E continued, "We have almost made the ghost house of one of the tallest towers in the capital, in eastern Yoshi City, disappear. We just need a little more time and we will be able to lift it off. I am planning to return it on and off to create mass hysterian with those simple urbanite yoshis. Vapour will probably want to place the house near that lake that made him the way he is, letting people lose their soul there."

"Again, E, your plan is ridiculously stupid," retorted Venom, "I, in the other hand have almost completed my mission. The residents of West Eastry down south are starting to rebel. Soon a civil war is going to start, and boy, will a double front war be fun."

"Venom, I am sure that the yoshis will not be hostile, but they will still battle," said Psy, "And who knows, maybe they will send a group of people to fight us. We must expect them to throw at us anything at their disposal. Stay alert, understand?" The three others nod. "Well then, I must join Bolton and our leader. Do your jobs well." He disperses in a shadowy fashion as he leaves.

Somewhere else, in Crater Heights, we see a Westrian male tied up with a fiery red yoshi holding him captive. "I was expecting to capture your lady brother, fool," says Bernard, "but you will do. If I can use you as bait to draw in troops over here, I'll be able to thin out their forces while you watch everything, not being able to do a thing. Then the group will mark me as the cruelest, more than that Asunaro." He laughs manically, while Svante, the tied man, sits silently and expressionless. He thinks to himself, "Yuhivia, I hope you are alright. I know you will be targeted next. I am thankful for two things: that you weren't caught here, and that my intel is hidden close by, away from enemy hands."

**Fanfic Trivia:** - A Westrian is a star being, sort of a polar opposite of a star spirit.

-Lupus is the (I believe) Latin word for wolf; the same is lobo in Spanish. Lubonians are wolf like beings.

-Bir-Davians a the birds. The word is just a mix of bird and avian.


	8. Chapter 7 – The Sunken Port Town

**Chapter 7 – The Sunken Port Town**

"Wow, Phello, you sure are a culexian magnet," said Kino as a swarm of culexians surround Phello. "That is what you get for going to that bakery and buying all that cake before crossing the border." "I should turn you into a shroom cake and eat you right now, cheese boy," replied Phello. As they are bickering in the background, we see Sheila putting on some repellant, Josin covering his face in frustration and Gramps rolling his eyes while saying, "How did we get stuck accepting this job with those two? Ever since we met both, we've had fun but they always cause some sort of problem."

"I now see what you mean," responded Sheila, "But Sal has always been like that. An eternal source of cheerfulness, you can say. And it is that same 'happiness' that creates an enormous accident that lands him straight into 'Riotville'. Or has he at least matured some while at college?" "Sheila," said Josin, "College and maturity do not really go hand in hand, which is what you are witnessing. Besides, adding Kino to the mix is sure the winning combo."

"True," replied Gramps laughingly, "Both are a handful. Phello binge eats cake; Kino is bright enough to think making smelly cheese at the dorm is a penny pinching solution. You can count the police coming at any party Phello steps into, and Kino is just perverted, with his detailed conversations about female anatomy angering Josin, who is a very chaste guy. And both are like a girl repellant; their constant search for girls has driven all of them away from us. Funny, they would only get close if we accidentally wet Josin and he had to take his shirt off." "Do not embarrass me, Gramps," said Josin, "You know how nervous it makes me to show my body to girls. Being a girl magnet is not fun, really."

"You are hilarious," said Gramps, "Look, you are very respectful to everyone, responsible, have a very good physique, and you got a brain to match that brawn. No wonder all the jocks hated you because you were the most sought after. Think of the opportunities." "I am not ready for such a commitment, Gramps. I was raised with respect for everyone, especially the ladies. The 'bad' thing, I suppose, is that I probably do make the perfect man. But if I really wanted to take that big step, it would be me looking for the girl and not the other way around." "Josin, you remind me of my dad, you are too old-fashioned; but that is why I call you my best friend, you truly speak your heart out. But never mind this, look, the…whoa, that is what is left?"

Ahead is seen the desolate ruins of a once bustling commercial port. Much of the town is submerged under mossy, murky waters. Although the flooding transpired recently, the flora engulfed the edifices almost as if trying to erase all evidence of a civilization, and whirlpools formed sporadically all around the town. There were areas where high rising bridges were inches from the sea level, some almost succumbing to the oceanic pressure.

As Josin, Sheila and Gramps stare in astonishment, Kino and Phello are still arguing, prompting Josin to turn around and give them an infuriated look. Phello, who was looking at one of Kino's anatomical books, gave a look as if he had been caught red-handed; Kino makes the same expression, discreetly extending his hand toward Phello. Phello quickly passes him the book and says, "Kino started this, we went from cheesecake to how milk is produced to wom…what the… this is our first job?!" "Josin, what should we do?" asked Kino, "I didn't think it would be this overwhelming." Josin give another quick scan across the terrain. There were still places he couldn't see well and there seemed to be some hidden places as well.

"We are splitting up, on that island in between the four bridges," replied Josin, "Phello and Sheila, you both will go to the right and enter the building we are all seeing. Both of you are silent and cautious, so I know you will not fall in an ambush. Besides, culexians are an outdoors clan, so you will be safe, Phello. I will go straight, and climb the cliff, and Kino and Gramps will go left to the cape." Sheila, showing a little concern, asks Josin, "Will you be fine alone?" Before answering, Josin remembers when Kogia Whaildor told him something in private a day before Sheila joined the party.

_The binary stars shone on a regular frigid day in the province of Dolphonia. Phello, who is not accustomed to the icy climate, is wearing a thick coat, while Gramps and Kino are in a pool outside Gramps' house, making fun of Phello for being cold. Josin is sitting nearby drinking a fruit shake. Kogia walks in and all four young men greet him; all but Josin resume what they where doing. Kogia sits next to Josin and takes some sushi that Gramps had left for the young men to eat. "Josin, I know it has only been one day since you have accepted this task, and do not mean to burden you with more, but it is inevitable."_

"_Mr. Kogia, do not worry about that. There are still things we are clueless about, and I am sure that more problems will pile up anyway."_

"_I appreciate you courage. We, the council, were just informed a little more about the enemy. It seems that they have found a way of gaining access to a forbidden land, bypassing the Temple of Binary Stars. We still do not understand why they want to go there. Stopping them now may be impossible but there may be a way of overcoming this, and it's by going there as well, the normal way." _

"_How so?" _

"_You must collect most of the Gold and Silver Items, and place them in the Star Land Portal to gain access."_

"_Gold and Silver Items?" _

"_Gold and Silver Items are pieces of a legendary armor that will form with the unification of all such items. Each item's use revolves around the element they emit, whether it is fire, ice, or whatever else. 13 of the 16 items were used directly by the 12 Guardians, so it is safe to assume that the new regime of evil guardians must be defeated to acquire their respective item. And since we are talking Guardians, it will be no simple task."_

"_Mr. Kogia, were you able to learn anything else?"_

"_Well, as you could probably deduce, there are more items scattered across the continent, so you should keep your eyes peeled for that. The essence extraction… I guess that has something to do with getting the shortcut to work. Only the power of ten monarchs is needed, but 12 kings will make it faster. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Commander Guillian has confirmed his support. Anyway, thanks for putting up with the selfish demands of the royal council. I am sure you will keep the group together even though you were not named leader, because we know you well."_

"_No problem, Mr. Kogia. You can count on us to finish this task. My last question, do you know the location of any of the rouge items? I know that if we meet any evil Guardian, that they will at least have one in their possession."_

"_I have heard rumors that the same port you young men are going to had a guild that took charge in guarding an extremely valuable item in the cliffs, next to a tower that is probably an island by now. It is probably one of these items…"_

_The conversation is bluntly interrupted by hysterical yelling from the direction of the pool. "Kino, use your head as a flotation device," uttered Phello sarcastically, while Kino was franticly swimming toward the shallow side. Phello was so focused in mocking Kino that he did not see the small puddle near him. As he steps on the puddle, he loses his footing and falls in the cold water, while one of his shoes slips right off and flies at the neighbor's house with massive force. _

_When the shoe hits the wall of the house, it creates a loud bang, but the wall remains undamaged. The windows of the entire house, however, shatter. Kogia stares in disbelief, while Gramps hangs his head and Josin scratches his head in frustration. "Do not worry, Mr. Kogia," says Josin, "We have a 'In case Phello does something stupid again' fund we can use to pay for the repairs. We'll take care of it."_

After the recollection of this memory, he answers Sheila, "It is my job to worry for everyone in the group, so do not worry about me. I'll be fine." Sheila, although still a bit uncomfortable, smiles and gives a nod of approval. After they enter the city and walk on what was a street located on a hill and part of a wall, they begin approaching the central tower where they were to split up.

Before crossing the bridge to the tower, they stop to eat and divide the supplies. As they are busy resting before going on, Phello notices whirlpools forming rapidly, disappearing and reappearing in various places in the water, as well as a blue figure with seductive eyes going inside the enormous building in the middle of the town. "Hey, Sal," whispers Sheila, "you were going to entertain us with hilariously corny tricks. Is something wrong?" Phello replies, "Sorry, Sheila, I just got distracted. Well, here I go."

After a while, they advance to the sunken tower to part ways. Josin turns and states, "We'll meet on top of that hill in a couple of hours. Keep yourselves vigilant; we are officially going to enter enemy territory. We can't readily go and assist each other, so take care of the supplies and of each other." "That's fine and all," replies Kino, "but, do we have to ride these ridiculous rubber ducky rafts? I know Rudolph or whoever was well meaning but…" "It is just this once," interrupted Gramps.

"It is not that bad," declared Josin, "I must ride this motorized goldfish surfboard thingamajig. Not so safe in a whirlpool infested estuary." Then he said to everyone, "This is where we… Gramps, be care… ful." Before Josin could finish his warning, Gramps trips on the "floor" door leading into the tower and splashes in the water. He quickly resurfaces. "The water is great, you guys!" exclaims Gramps. Phello replies, "As much as I really want to… ah, who cares! I am coming in!" Josin grabs Phello's shirt from the back, leaving Phello running in place. "Get out of there before you get sucked in by a whirlpool," said Josin. "I'll be fine," Gramps says, "This was part of my training in school." "Alright, if you say so," Josin said, "As I was going to say, this is where we split up."

"Diplomatic as always," said Kino, "You know, you have always been like that ever since we've met. It's like you are from a secret royal lineage or something." This makes Josin chuckle. "Kino, come on. I know my step-parents told me they adopted me, but what are the chances that I am a king, prince, or you name it?" "Hey, I was only stating the obvious. Well, at least the talking part."

Sheila steps in and says to everyone, "Before we do part ways, at least let's say who we are doing this for. I know it was a request of the Royal Advisory Counsel, but I am doing this for my big bro and late parents also." She extends her hand forward in the midst of the group. Phello puts his hand on top of hers. "I'll be my kingdom's king, so, for the honor of the kyogonians!"

Gramps jumps out of the water onto the tower. "For everyone that suffered terrible loses these past 15 years." Kino then placed his hand over Gramps' flipper. "For the restoration of my destroyed nation…" Kino makes a lewd face. "And for the ladies! " Josin places both of his hands, one over Kino's hand and one under Sheila's. "For the future of our world …and, for us!" They smile at each other and promptly went their separate ways.

The same pair of seductive eyes suddenly appeared inside the enormous building in the middle of the town, gazing from an opening toward the group. Having heard everything, she thought to herself, "Such foolish youth! They do not know that all of this is for the greater good of everyone. Our leader will guide this entire world to a new era of tranquility. When we succeed in our plan, I hope Bernie, Azure and I will once more be a happy family. You guys wait for me; as soon as I'm done, we will have no more obstacles for our happiness."

**Fanfic Trivia:**

-The Yoshi continent has a similar but minor resemblance to the islands in Mario Party's "Yoshi's Tropical Island," albeit at a much larger scale. The territories would be divided like this: the Yoshi Kingdom would be the nose, the eyes and the non-nose areas of the face is the Kingdom of the Yoshans, and the "back fin" is Siyactus. Below the neck and the jaw would be the remaining 8 nations.

-Kogia is the genus for pygmy and dwarf sperm whales.

-I guess binge eating cake is the equivalent of over stuffing yourself with cake.


	9. Chapter 8 – The Guildsman's Cave

**Chapter 8 – The Guildsman's Cave**

"Well, here I am," thought Josin to himself as he landed on shore. He looked at both directions where his friends have gone, but it was impossible to see anything from his standpoint. "I hope they all made it safely. Anyway, there is no point of me worrying; I'll just trust them and their abilities. And this cliff won't carry me up there, so I better get moving."

Josin made his way over and started climbing the rugged cliff. As he was ascending, he noticed a fog appeared at a certain distance. Fearing it was a trap, he let himself drop, and cushioned his fall with _Defense Circuit_, an electric technique of his. Looking around again from the bottom, he sees it did not descend with him, but remained a good distance, and from the ground up, the surroundings was clear.

He checks to see if there is anything missing or if his power level dropped. When he realizes he is well, he thinks, "This must be a natural phenomenon of the area. I must keep going." Once more, he quickly climbs the cliff. He reaches the top but is confused as to where could the cave be. "I reached the top," he thought, "and there is no fog, but also no cave. Maybe the late beings of this city purposely had a guild here in this cliff. By using nature in their favor, they could fool everyone else by masking it with this simple foggy cliff."

As he proceeded to climb down, a couple of young dragons climbed up the cliff close to where Josin was standing. He watched in amusement as the quarreled amongst themselves. One said, "Lady Llunami will have our heads if we do not find the Golden Breastplate hidden around this area." The other responded, "Well, we could go back down to see if it is hidden in that dense fog. We have climbed up and down three times already. Nothing among the reeds below the cliff, and nothing up here." "We should call our group over from the forested area of the cliff, and start searching the cliff side."

As one made a high pitched whistle, the other happened to turn towards where Josin was standing. He smiled and waved while saying, "Thank you for confirming what I was speculating. I will go and search now." "This must be the lightning-style fighter we heard while we were searching the reeds," said the dragon that saw Josin first. The other, with a pompous and demanding voice, yelled, "Stop right there! Unless you want trouble, best tell us who you are! You are by yourself; so, if you want to remain alive and well, you better not engage in battle!"

At the distance, footsteps and voices of an incoming mob resounded, approaching quite rapidly. Josin assumes a battle stance, while he starts to emit lightning from his hands. In his mind, he thinks to himself, "If I give them my name, the Guardians will all come for my head in a flash. I must keep low profile as much as possible. Let's see if I can come up with an honest name without lying. Hmm… history… oh brain, do not fail me now. I know! I'll just…"

At that moment, he launched out to punch the one dragon close to him. He raises his electrified left fist in front while preparing to strike with the right. The closer dragon prepared to defend from the right hand, but was quickly struck by the bottom of the left fist. He hits the ground very intensely; his left shoulder is dislocated. The standing dragon watched in horror, nevertheless, he too was hit, but by the right hand. He was sent flying to a nearby tree; both of his wings got broken as he crashed on the trunk.

"I apologize," said Josin genuinely, "I am a brawny fellow, and thought both of you could handle it, since you gave such confident boasts of strength. Anyway, if you really want to know my name, try beating me to confessing it." Both dragons, though angered by what seemed to them as showing off, they cringed in pain, knowing now that they would be recipients of a sure death sentence. As they scowled in pain, their squadron arrived, seeing their strongest utterly defeated.

"What a cruel jerk!" one of the dragons in the group yelled. "Even we don't stoop that low in battle!" another yelled. "Wait a minute!" exclaimed Josin, a little panicky, "I was only responding to a challenge. I did not know that they were weak and I though I could take them on. Big bragging is very deceitful." "We don't care, sissy boy!" yelled a blue-gray dragon in the front of the group, "We will avenge our comrades." The rest of the group shouted in approval and started to advance toward Josin, with a blood-thirsty lust in their eyes.

Out of nowhere, an exclamation is heard, _"Yellow Meteor"_, and a turret of hot, yellow orbs rained upon the dragons, quickly taking them out. A red kyogonian with orange wings and a high ranking military uniform landed a close distance from Josin, who was rendered speechless. Josin, looked at himself, and then at the guy, got close and asked while looking at the guy's insanely muscular build, "Who are you, and are these real?" "Of course they are," he responded. Josin continued, "I did not believe this was even possible. You can not even hide your physique with your uniform…

The guy responded bluntly, "We are in enemy territory. We can get acquainted later. Besides, those two you pulverized are still conscience. If we leave now, they will have little intel from us." When the kyogonian got ready to fly off the cliff, Josin spontaneously got an idea. "You two," he told the first dragons, "I am Don." The guy looked back with the corner of his eyes. Although expressionless, his stare was very penetrating, sending shivers up and down the awake, hurting dragons. In his mind, he thought while Josin walked over to him, "Why did this fool reveal his name? Also, why did my stare not strike fear in his heart? When I saw him fight from a distance, those punches of his mean business. He is something else; with that strength, I bet he wasn't even trying."

"Since you can fly," Josin said, "you can carry me as we find a cave in this cliff." Before the guy could argue, Josin jumped on his back and wrapped his arms around his chest. He shuddered and gave a scowl of discomfort. Since they were at the edge, the force of the jump pushed him off. He then started to fly automatically, just as the temperature of his body started to rise in anger. "This feels disgusting," he said. "I know what you mean," replied Josin while looking down for the cave, "two muscular guys, one hugging the other from the back, does not portray a very good image."

As they descended, the guy said, "Here it is. I can tell by the feel of the pressure of the skies and the cliff." He moved forward and landed inside a ledge. Josin climbed of his back and looked at himself, for the front of him was wet with sweat. "I am grateful you are helping me here and all, but next time, please keep your temperature down. This is just… not right." The guy responded, this time, although with composure, very brusquely, "You should know that this reaction of mine is a kyogonian thing. You are a guy, and we kyogonian men do not like being touched by other guys. Besides that, I am a soldier trained in fire martial arts. That should explain the extreme body heat." They both turn about, and are greeted by a great metallic door. The guy signals Josin toward the lock while he put his head on the door. Having understood, Josin electrified his finger and focused it on the lock only. Following the guy's instructions as to where he should move his finger, the door opened, and once inside, they shut the door, locking it as well. The cave here reeked of rust, salty condensation, and mildew.

The guy, having emitted flames from his thumb to light up the place, broke the silence by saying, "Your lightning makes an obvious show; try to work on being more discreet. That was how I found you. Oh, I never told you my name, did I? I am Guillian, the highest ranking official in the entire army of the Kingdom of the Yoshans. I presume you are accompanying my brother." "Yes, well actually, we are going as a group. By the way, my name is Josin Zyuki, a yoshi from the province of Yoshi City, in the Yoshi Kingdom. It's me, Phello, Gramps, Kino our doctor, and Sheila."

As soon as he mentioned Sheila, Guillian quickly pinned him to the ground, pressing his right knee on Josin's abdomen, his right fore arm on Josin's chest, and his left arm in air, ready to strike. Josin grunted as he hit the ground and was perplexed, looking up at Guillian's flaming eyes as Guillian uttered, "If you dare make a move on my sister, you better believe that no one will be able to recognize you again." Having understood the fury, he calmly brushed away the left fist while saying, "You and Phello are too overprotective of your sister. I'll tell you what I told him: 'Duty over hormones.' And do not worry; he is with her right now."

Guillian's facial expression changed radically, to one of expressionless relief. He silently helped Josin up and continued walking forward in the dark cave, lighting up any torch they came across. They then arrived at a split, and next to the entrance of the hallway is a sign giving directions. "Guild Shrine, Keep Left. To the Culexan Port Convention Center and Arena Vent, Right," read Josin, "I believe that is where Sheila and Phello are at." "We must keep this in mind," said Guillian, "Let's keep going."

About half an hour later, they continued to walk, observing all around the cavern. Josin broke the silence, stating, "You are a reserved man, aren't you? You take you job seriously as a military guy. I guess rumors about you are true after all." "Josin, you ask too much. Let me be. With all your talking, I bet you did not notice the sign outside this shack." Both men stopped and saw a torn down shrine with a battered sign greeting Josin's face as he turned to look. It read: _Guild Shrine._ Inside, a golden glimmer was emitted, almost as if it invited them in.

As soon as they did, they were greeted by an old, blue yoshi, wearing tattered, old fashioned clothes, customary of about a century in the past. Both were surprised, as they were attacked by this man by a great water force. "I am the last pupil of the late Alef Macedonio," he said, "I have guarded the Golden Breastplate for almost 50 years, as I was ordered by him. If you want to retrieve it, you must take me out, Asunaro and Bernard." Josin exclaimed, "Wait up! That is not us!" Guillian said afterward, "He will not listen anyway. [Speaking to the old man, while taking a fight stance] Sir, prepare yourself."

**Fanfic Trivia:**

-Zyuki is Josin's stepfather's surname. I just made this name up to give mostly everyone a surname, so there is no real meaning behind it.

-Yoshan is the surname of the current ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of the Yoshans. It is an obvious reference to kyogonians being nearly identical to the yoshi species.

-Josin is young but acts more mature than his friends, due to his childhood full of adult responsibilities. However, he still has no experience outside his home town.


	10. Chapter 9 – Talking of the Shroom

**Chapter 9 – Talking of the Shroom**

"Why did I get stuck with a tub of lard?" complained Kino as they landed on coast close to the ocean. "Because," replied Dolphinius, "I've known Josin pretty well, since we went to school together since childhood. He could see beyond what anyone his age could, and had good reasoning behind his actions. He knew you would not leave Sheila alone, and that Phello might have gone berserk on you. Besides, we can still have fun…" "Doing nothing," interrupted Kino. "True, but let us make the best of it." "You are right, Muktuk," he replied, "Besides, your powers combined with mine will sure pack a punch."

Gramps' face was ecstatic, with nostalgia slowly possessing his thoughts. "I can remember the days of sumo wrestling, back in college. We in the team were all overweight, so we decided for that year to take a fitting name, and mine was Muktuk. We had a perfect streak that season." "You lost all your games?" asked Kino mockingly. "No, silly," responded Gramps, "We won them all. And, uh, why did you have to ask? It was the semester only you could attend because you had, um, two difficult classes. Everyone else was loaded with many classes." "Supposedly difficult," retorted Kino, "but anyway, all the time I try, [chuckles] I can't seem to get you angry." "I should, especially after you capsized the raft we were in, but there isn't any problem too big I can't brush off." "Well, we were attacked, and doing that has brought us here, hasn't it?" asked Kino with a smile and slight chuckle.

Both Dolphinius and Kino remember what occurred a while back. _Dolphinius is rowing the rubber ducky boat while sighing and rolling his eyes as he is hearing Kino complain. "We are riding a most ridiculous piece of rubber; I can't contemplate on the beauty of an exquisite lady, showing her the most pleas…" "Kino, dude, [calmly] I don't want to hear your anatomical rants. Besides we are soon to be discovered if you keep shouting your lowly miseries." "Aw, Gramps, chill. [Whispering] If we attract them here, we can take them out and when we land, problem solved." "I hope your plan…" He could not finish, as a splash of water soared in front of the raft. "Don't worry, Kino, my back pack just fell in the water. Let me get it before it gets sucked in by the whirlpool." _

_Gramps jumps off and dives for the bag. Kino, whose jaw dropped slightly and his left hand was raised up, said to himself, "What part of whirlpool infested estuary did he not understand?" He proceeds in rubbing his eyes in disappointment, while whispering, "At least I have the raft to myself now. I better place my bag of supplies in a box so I won't lose it like lardo there." He freezes the bag into a block of ice. "There. Since ice floats, I will not risk sinking." Another splash of water explodes in front on the raft. Kino lets out a girlie squeal, while snapping on both his index and middle fingers of both hands. Two small ice blades were formed. As the water and mist cleared, we only see Gramps climbing on board with a wet sack. _

"_You scared me half to death," exclaimed Kino, "I thought I was being bombarded or something." "It almost got sucked in, but I got it in the nick of time. Uh, by the way, I have good hearing, Ms. Squealing Popsicle. It is great to be a lardo. Ladies like a rough but plush man. I…" Gramps blushes. "I just haven't landed the jackpot yet." "Whailidor, it will be a miracle seeing you walk down an aisle with a woman foolish enough to love your voluminous body." "And the sky will fall and the world will end when any girl says yes to you." Although he was not pleased at the comment, Kino nodded in approval. "So much for being shy," he replies, "maybe I'll make you mad again like I did in that one town, where me and Phello were bickering over arriving first." "You know it is near impossible to get me upset. That time was just to prevent getting into more trouble. It is like both of you like making us into hate targets." As soon as he finished talking, a splash made from a cannon ball exploded to the right of the raft. Gramps continues talking as if nothing happened, all while Kino is becoming frantic._

"_We were being, uh, looked at, from the lake thing we are floating on. Since I am already used to whirlpool swimming, I was able to rush all three, umm, uh… Spies! Yes, I punched one into the whirlpool and was sucked under, then I did a palm thrust at another sending him flying, uh, swimming? The other barely escaped and probably got reinforcements. The sunken spy man was getting thrown out of the water, so, uh, I took advantage, of the, umm, blast."_

"_You do realize we are being attacked? If this rubber ducker gets nicked one bit, we will be served to the enemies as 'Muktuk a la Champignon'! We do not have enough supplies to waste on attacking the enemy on water! We need to get to shore!" "Uh, Kino, uh, calm down. We have enough sup…" "Don't act so calm, blubber boy! I know, you got the bends!" "Did you study a little too much? This is going too far…" Just as he was about to finish, a harpoon was about to strike Dolphinius. Kino slams it down with a ice mallet he formed; it pierces through the raft; air was rushing out the rupture very fast. Kino then makes a confident face, as if he was about to save a life at the operation table. _

_He tells a perplexed Dolphinius to steer the raft as long as the air could propel them forward. "I have found the enemy," Kino proclaims, as he crosses his arms and clenches his fists. He closes his eyes and slightly tilts his head down. His hands turn a hypothermic blue hue, while Dolphinius is driving the raft. He suddenly opens his eyes as the fog cleared due to the frigidity emitted from Kino's hands. A small caravel was a little far off with about 20 young, aquatic Bir-Davians, all having a lost, but malicious look. Kino yelled 'Tundra Bite' and quickly opened both of his fists. Blue, needle-like objects launched out of his hands and flew straight at the enemy's boat. _

_They all take cover but notice nothing happened to them or the caravel. They then angrily shoot another cannon ball. This, however, causes the caravel to shatter, since the boat's wooden body became frozen and fragile because of Kino's technique. As it was capsizing, the cannon ball was shot by a jet of water so potent, that it shred the metallic sphere, and sent shrapnel back at the Bir-Davians, injuring many. Kino turns back and gives a thumbs-up and a wink. Dolphinius gives a thumbs-up back. Kino, realizing Sheila was not there to watch, and it was just Gramp's shooting water from his mouth, sulks in disappointment._

Back in present time, after remembering everything, Dolphinius answers, "Whatever happened back then, you sure have impressed me. How did you know where the attack came from? It must be some anticipation technique." "Actually, no," responded Kino, "it is actually the ability to sense changes in atmospheric pressure, whether it is sky high, or a precipice, or even the force caused by a speeding projectile. Medical and military units of the highest caliber are able to learn this. And it will never work on open spaces with clear weather. Only beings with dark, ghost, and mystery have the anticipation technique, as well as elite lightning and plant fighters."

"I see," said Dolphinius, "Well, it seems we have defeated all of our sea-based enemies. And according to this year-old map, we are about an hour and a half away from the meeting place. Let's leave now." Kino replied, "Wait, I haven't thawed out my supply bag."

Just a Kino was about to finish unfreezing the pack, a shirtless, obese, sky blue yoshi stepped out of the nearby brush. He is looking down while grabbing his right shoulder. He looked slightly deranged, and sported an exaggerated smile. Dolphinius took a fighting stance, while saying, "He is faking an injury, and is probably here to take us out too."

Kino stops him and says "What if he was attacked like us as well? They might have taken advantage of his crazed look…" The blue fellow just shook his head and said in a light-hearted manner, "No, no. I am not crazy, nor was I attacked. I just lost my way and happen to reach this water inferno. Boy, is it hot here! I did have quite an accident and injured my shoulder. Is one of you a doctor? I am really worried about losing too much blood."

Kino replies, "I'll have a look at your shoulder. Do not worry; if I have a look at your shoulder, I will fix it good as… Wait, what!? Are you sure you are not crazy or hit you head insanely hard? THIS IS JUST A SMALL SCRAPE!" And truly, it was the smallest cut Kino had seen in his life. "You shoulder is not even dislocated." "I am so sorry. It is just that I really am lost, and haven't seen anyone I know for many hours, and I tend to worry over little things. I was supposed to locate my sister, but she probably left this place thinking that I am about to reach Lake Siyactus, south of here. Can you guys accompany me south?"

"Gramps, what do you think? We can't tag along with this worrywart for too long since we have plans of our own. Oh, [to the blue guy] here's a Band-Aid, knock yourself out." Dolphinius says, "According to this map, about half an hour south is a fork in the road. One path, goes south to the lake, and the other goes west to our meeting place. I feel somewhat bad about leaving you alone, but we really must go there." "I'll be fine. Somebody is already waiting for us there. I just hope to meet up with my sister too." "Well let's go!" exclaims Kino while bumping his left hip into Dolphinius. All three guys start heading down the road together.

When they reach the fork, the blue yoshi says, "Thank you for escorting me here. This means a lot to me. I was going to look for my sister, a, um… archeologist, because there was an interesting find here in Siyactus, a historical treasure hidden in this once booming town. I was informed by a, uh, travel agency, of a certain woman causing trouble. But they're mistaken! That 'she' is really a very ruthless male yoshi, and is the reason I got lost in the first place. It is a miracle I am unharmed. Oh, keep your eyes peeled for an orange yoshi that carries a wooden stick with holes. He is the one that is causing turmoil everywhere, and I barely escaped him. Don't be merciful, err, easy on him. Great, the day stars are setting, and I must be going now."

Dolphinius motions the blue guy to wait, and says, "Thanks for the info. We'll be ready for him. I just can't believe anyone could confuse orange for blue; maybe they're color blind. Anyhow, if you ever find yourself in Dolphonia, don't hesitate to come visit me." "Same here," says Kino, "After I am done touring this place…" "Touring?" asks the blue guy. Kino replies, "Yes, touring. After all that is done, I'll probably head back with Gramps here, before going back to my native Toadal. We'll see ya later." They part ways; Kino's and Dolphinius' voices are heard a good distance, joking around together. The blue guy turns slightly and looks at their direction from the corner of his eye. He tilts his head slightly upwards. Then, he turns and leaves.

**Fanfic Trivia:**

-Dolphinius' second nickname, Muktuk, is a Inuit word for the frozen whale blubber meal .

-Kino hates curing people with very minor injuries.

-I couldn't think of a title for the chapter, so I just used Shakespeare's _Taming of the Shrew_ and changed the wording_._


	11. Chapter 10 – Hormonic Washout

**Chapter 10 – Hormonic Washout**

"THIS IS THE LAST TIME YOU STEER THE RAFT!" yelled Sheila as they crash-land on the coast. "At least I evaded all of those weird whirlpools," replied Phello as the sand cloud cleared, "They formed so fast and in weird places, even a whirlpool inside a whirlpool!" They both get off. Phello looks toward the two entrances of the inundated convention center, while Sheila inspects their supplies. "Well," she says, "a couple of things got damaged, but most of it is still usable."

"Well then," says Phello, "we must get going and search this place. Josin said we needed to look for some gold and silver items, as well as defeating each Guardian. It is going to be tough, but we'll be able to do this." He gallantly continues, "The only thing is that if this blue woman is a Guardian, you take her on. I, as a kyogonian man, refuse to hit women." "Oh, but you always hit on them," replies Sheila. Phello's jaw drops, but after a short and awkward silence, he stammers, "We must press forward. Josin and the others will be waiting." "Such formality and courage, quite suitable for a future king," said Sheila cheerfully, "No nonsense jokes or freakish shenanigans." Phello just hangs his head in dismay, while thinking, "Wonderful, why don't you just come over and shoot me already?'

They go inside, and as they inspect the forlorn place, they are in awe, for they see walls of flowing water, and dirty but enticing posters and announcements abandoned on the wall. The water radiated a calm, oceanic blue hue, and illuminated the dark hall, despite there being no source of light within. Their steps echoed throughout the place, ringing back a melancholic emptiness, of what seemed to be the eerie breath of lost souls. "I do not feel comfortable, Sal," said Sheila as she hugged him for security. "We mustn't split up," replied Phello, "I only wish big bro was here. But we can't rely on him all the time."

They continue to another chamber, watching all around to see if there was going to be an ambush. All they saw was water cascading from upper levels into the ponds formed on that floor. "Even though we are in enemy territory, it feels like we are walking through a beautiful fountain." For a moment, Phello stood in awe, contemplating the artificial wonder as if surveying the natural waterfalls of his kingdom. He heard an alluring, female whisper amidst the serene murmur of the aqua, "You will never leave alive." Realizing the eminent danger that is to befall them at any time, he snaps back into reality and becomes alert.

Sheila turns around after enjoying the sightseeing, and says to Phello, "Why so serious, Sal? If you go into battle too tense, you'll get a cramp or something."

"Did you just hear something?" asked Phello.

"Just the soothing sound of the water," replied Sheila.

"Sheila, a while ago before we all split, I, uh… Never mind, we must be careful. Let's move on."

"You had me worried there; don't scare me like that. Okay then, all we need to do is cross this room and then another. According to the map over there, let's see… Yes, the Culexian Port Arena is after the next room. When we cross that water veil, and the other room, we will reach the place where this woman most likely will be at. So, let's go."

They both move forward and turn the corner to enter a hall leading to various rooms. Water flowed like deep blue veils, as if hiding mysterious, sub aquatic worlds. As they walk toward the next area, blue, feminine hands silently came out of the water and pulled Phello in water by his mouth and chest. "The next room is straight ahead, Sal… Sal, where did you go?"

In a room parallel to the hallway, Llunami is holding onto Salemence from the back. "Don't worry, handsome," she said in a calm, sexy voice, "That girl will not be able to hear you. The water flowing on these walls is sound proof because of my _Still Cavern Lake_ technique. Now then, I'll do something that will render you helpless."

She proceeds to wrap her right leg around him and her hand makes its way inside his shirt, slowly running down his white abdominals. Phello thinks, as he tries to struggle, "This is why we kyogonian men do not battle women. We are weak to the delicate touch of a woman. As much as I want to do anything, I find my body not able to respond."

Phello is sweating profusely, as Llunami gets close to his ear and whispers, "You are so very hot, and it hurts me to have to kill you, but you are probably here to obstruct me. Farewell. _Plasma Coffin._" A water-like liquid encases Phello, who is now beginning to drown. "You can't splash that liquid off; it will always assume the shape your body." She sighs. "I would like to keep admiring that sexy body of yours, but I have business to take care of. If it wasn't because of a certain old fart, I would have been done with my mission. After I beat that pink yoshi, I will be able to find that Gold Breastplate, and later assassinate Commander Guillian." She winks and blows a kiss at him before disappearing into the water.

Sheila reached the arena, and was surprised that is was well lit and in good condition. "It looks like this place has been maintained recently. Anyway, I thought Sal went ahead of me a reached here first, but oh well. He probably went to the bathroom or something. That's why his friends do not take him seriously. I'll look for him later; for now I'll search this place and leave no stone unturned." Before she could start looking, a bubble with a purple hue flew next to her. When it popped on the floor it released a big explosion, Sheila however dodged it.

"High reflexes and escaping my _Bubble Bomb: Violet Bang_ unscathed must mean you are a woman with defensive techniques," said an alluring female voice, "But is defense all you can do? Do you depend on the strength of others so they can fight your battles?"

"I can't give you an answer if all you do is hide."

Llunami came out of a wall of water that flowed upwards. "It takes more than a brave voice to scare me. All of my men think doing that is intimidating, but fail miserably. Oh, speaking about men, that hunky, dark blue kyogonian man that came in with you…"

"What did you do to Sal?"

"Mmm… Let's just say I put him to sleep for good."

An arrow went through Llunami. Sheila said while gripping her bow, "I have trained a lot with many water-style fighters. Next time I shoot, I'll bypass your defense with an arrow infused with a defense neutralizing technique, _Disabil._" As she finished speaking she shot another arrow. To Sheila's astonishment, it went through like the first one.

"Nice try, but remember, I am the yoshi guardian of water, and besides that, look at my foot ware. One of the gold and silver items, the Silver Boots. Although they are not very fashionable, they boost all of my attacks and defense. Think that coming at me armed only with sticks and reflexes will take me down? You signed your own death sentence by coming to me without a gold and silver item. Prepare to join that handsome kyogonian." The place stated filling up with water coming from the boots, and a wave formed behind Sheila, ready to engulf her.

**Fanfic Trivia:**

-Llunami is a word combination for the Spanish word for rain, "lluvia," and the Japanese word "nami," which means wave.

-Why boots for a water-based item? The idea came from the concept that water is the base of life, kind of how shoes or boots go on the base of the body.

- A previous chapter mentions Salemence's almost similar name and color scheme to that one Pokémon. His (Sal's) wings are red as well (though his personality and appearance are dissimilar to each other and are not inspired by said Pokémon in any way).


	12. Chapter 11 – Revered Tsuva Virginio

**Chapter 11 – Revered Tsuva Virginio**

"Please old man," said Josin nervously, "We are not who you say we are. We also do not wish to fight you."

Guillian said, "You mentioned Bernard and Asunaro, revered one. We're not them, and besides that, I am a kyogonian, not a yoshi."

"Nice try, Bernie, but your sly attitude won't work on me!" declared the man, "for I, Tsuva Virginio, will take you two out and bring this continent closer to peace."

He lunged at Guillian as sea water blasted from his feet, making his attack stronger by force. Tsuva moved at nearly blinding speed and landed a right punch, but noticed a pair of wings with an aspect of heated metal covering Guillian. Steam emitted from Tusva's fist. "Revered Tsuva," said Guillian, "I underestimated your might. You indeed are a water guardian's finest disciple. You only had time to shield myself with my _Lava Wall: Steel Wing._"

"I am flattered by your eulogy. Those wings you got there… you crafty wretch probably stole them from an elite kyogonian soldier." Guillian remained silent. Tusva continued while swaying his arms quickly to form a sphere, "But, can you save your friend over there?"

A blue, sea water ball formed, and he threw it quickly at Josin while yelling, "_Tsunami Cannon_"! Josin, who was also somewhat thrown off guard by the insane speed of the attack, thrust both of his arms forward and separated them slightly. He clasps them together, catching the liquid sphere; he promptly throws it back. This surprises Tsuva immensely, who simply dispels the reflected attack with a simple kick.

"Asunaro," Tsuva says, "you are quite the showman. Under all that scaredy cat act, you happen to extremely fast reflexes, almost at a guardian level. You are much stronger than what I have heard two years ago." He immediately looks below Josin's face upon hearing noise made from electric currents. He sees Josin's hands enveloped in a light green aura, with dirt particles revolving around them; Guillian notices as well. Noticing both Guillian and Tsuva were looking under his face, he looks down too, after becoming uncomfortable.

Realizing he forgot to stop his technique, he went on saying, "This is a lightning technique called _Electron Protonosis._ It allows me to manipulate any substance at the atomic level. It only works on fast objects, though."

"Something's not right here," replied Tsuva, clasping his chin and completely giving his back toward Guillian. Guillian, having cooled down his infernal wings, nimbly flew next to Josin, and said as he landed, "It is dishonorable for a member of any elite kyogonian regimen to strike an opponent whose back is toward you. Now that I am face to face with a worthy adversary, I humbly request for you to not turn down this fight."

Tsuva slightly glares at the two from the upper corners of his eyes, and replies, "Such a noble spirit. It brings to my memory of one forbearing and righteous guardian I had the honor to meet: the blind sage, Honorable Nevis."

"A famous third generation guardian, huh? Wasn't the third generation of 12 Guardians completely deceased 180 years ago?" asked Guillian.

"182 to be exact," replied Tsuva, "But more about that later. Now, it seems you wanted to tell me something, didn't you?" Tsuva assumes a fight stance.

"No use insisting that we are not those two you speak of. I guess fists speak louder than words here."

Tsuva grins. "Can't wait. Well then, shall we?"

Guillian, pleased yet expressionless, dashed toward Tsuva with a fire-lit fist ready to strike. As he is about to strike, Guillian opened his fist while saying, "_Blaze Rod Spear,_" making his fingers light up like a heated blacksmith's metalwork. Tsuva jets up toward the ceiling; he yells, "Trying to evaporate me, huh?" Guillian, without looking or responding, redirects his attack up; the red, hot blazes from his fingers were thrown just like a barrage of spears. Seeing he would not be able to dodge, he whispers "_Void of Absolute Zero,_" causing a deep blue mist to envelop the area. The fire vanishes, and everything except Tsuva became this blue color.

"As a very high level warrior," stated Tsuva, as he calmly walked around, "I can use other elements, other than my original, and tapping into such powers have always given me the edge. Although I must admit, this ice power isn't even the tip of the iceberg when compared to the strongest woman in history, the fifth strongest guardian to ever live, Kinumi Waynor of the Absolute Zero."

Josin tried to use _Electron Protonosis_, but nothing happens. Tsuva went on explaining, "This area is so cold that all the elements have stopped moving. Unless you can defeat me or can dispel this area, both of you will slowly lose your body heat and eventually die."

Guillian remained expressionless as he tried igniting his fire powers; all efforts were in vain. Josin surrounded himself in blue lightning and returned to his original color. He utters, "_Rigel Synopsis,_" and many blue electric spheres form inside, as well as one in front of Josin. He places his hand on the orb. A flash of light shot out to a random orb, then to another, until the crossing lines formed a constellation seen only of distant worlds. The dome-like area shatters, and Tsuva, having felt the shattering in his body as well, fell to his knee.

"Very good, young yoshi," Tsuva said, "You managed to weaken my decrepit body." He grins, and says "The thrill of battling for the last time clouded my sight; I would have probably been dismembered is you two were who I said you were. I can now place my trust that after I am gone, this continent will find its former stability."

Before going on, he sits on the floor and crosses his legs. "As you may know already, many leaders of the nations around the continent are no more, as well as most of the previous generation of guardians. Beware of the new generation of guardians. I recently had the misfortune to battle two, Llunami, a blue yoshi woman of water, and Bernard, the yoshi of fire. It soon became a one on one battle; Bernard left because he needed to capture a certain woman alive. Most of Sea Swamp's residents fled while we fought. The only thing our stalemate achieved was the total destruction of the port."

Josin and Guillian then sit down as Josin asks, "If you trained with legendary guardians, why couldn't you beat Llunami?"

"I became able to connect my life force with the item, hence my longevity. But because I separated myself from the Golden Breastplate, my life force is diminishing, even as we speak. Had I not separated, I probably would have defeated her. I was strong enough to hold off two guardians, but it was out of the question to reveal the location of this item. If I was beaten by the two guardians, they would have taken possession of it. Besides, my task was to guard the item, not defeat an eminent evil. That falls on your hands, young ones."

"Revered Tsuva, can you help us in our quest to save everyone?" asked Guillian.

Tsuva replies, "First off, retrieve the gold and silver items from the 12 Guardians and the ones hidden across the continent. Then, in the lapse of 9 months and 10 days, you must find the Temple of the Binary Stars, and access the perilous Star Land, a dimension within that temple. Once inside, you must find a way of destroying that realm of cosmos. I have been in there 100 years ago, when the temple appeared once more in the plains of the Yoshi Kingdom, but never in the past has there been a problem such as we now suffer.

"This brings me to my third request. Find the Warp Sphere and Stonewall key. The Warp Sphere is an item that I know nothing about. The Stonewall Key is the remnant of the intergalactic portal to which the ancient races of doogans and koopas traversed, as well as the toad of short stature and saddled yoshis. This malicious key will have to power to open Star Land's gate, if it has the essence of all the countries of this continent, that is, the lives of beings. Only the essences of ten strong beings are necessary for it to open the door, although it will take time. 12 will definitely give immediate access to that land. The enemy leader probably has not said much, or revealed himself for that matter, but I believe it may have something to do with all this."

"I only have a big issue," said Josin, "I know that Honorable Amazonas is said to be the strongest guardian in all history. Is he not able to put an end to this catastrophe?"

"I am absolutely certain he can," responded Tsuva, "However, his power is so great that he may destroy this world while doing so; battling 10 or so beings who are cruel and ruthless, even with Honorable Amazonas overpowered, is a risk that places all of us in an immense disadvantage.

"99% of his essence is in the inhospitable Nortimia, whose terrain is the most trying force; any normal being exiled there is said to be wiped out of existence as soon as they land there. Honorable Amazonas can survive that easily; he went there before the chaos started here, ridding this part of the world of objects that must never be used again."

Tsuva looks up at the cavern's ceiling, the closes his eyes and breathes deeply. He spoke as he looks at both in the eyes, "Well then, children, I will hand over this Golden Breastplate to you. This item enhances any defensive technique, as well as automatically defend you if you are about to be struck from the back. As soon as I do hand it over though, I will shortly die, since I will no longer be connected to it. Nevertheless, it will be your duty to bring peace to this world while Honorable Amazonas is in process of returning. I have faithfully watched over this item for so long; it is time for me to be reunited with my precedents."

Guillian takes the Golden Breastplate from Tsuva's hands, and tells Josin, "We must go back to the flooded convention center. This water woman, Llunami, must have hidden there to recover and maybe ambush Salemence and Sheila. Knowing Salemence, he probably got defeated."

"I agree, and I highly doubt that Kino and Gramps will be in danger. Let's thank Mr. Virginio before we… leave." Josin turned before having said the last word, and found Tsuva lying dead on the floor. Guillian stands and salutes Tsuva's cadaver, then he and Josin place him inside the shack where the breastplate was in. Josin says before they both leave him to rest in peace, "Should he have lived longer, he would have been a great guardian. Let us continue this legacy; Tsuva's sacrifice will not be in vain."

(Starting this chapter, **Fanfic Facts** will be called **Fanfic Trivia**.)

**Fanfic Trivia:** - In real life, absolute zero is a temperature in which all particles are completely still.

- The place 'Star Land' was used from a board game I made, which was inspired by Super Mario World's Star Road.

- Despite having five generations, there have only been 2 plant guardians and 4 wind guardians.


	13. Chapter 12 – The Floating Bag

**Chapter 12 – The Floating Bag**

Kino and Dolphinius walked toward the arena on a wide path of the dense forest. The moons are already shining, and the shared their light as well, but the overgrown branches formed a ceiling over the path that prohibited much light to penetrate into the gloomy forest. Dolphinius is holding an oil lamp, and Kino placed both of his hands behind his head. The sound of the rustling leaves is randomly heard about, and a light evening breeze send chills up Kino's spine.

"Kino, you shivering 'cause of a little cold wind? And here I thought you were an ice style doc."

"Don't mock me, Gramps!" snapped Kino, "Just thinking about what that fat, blue psycho told us. But, what if the council and that travel agency were both correct, and now we're being stalked by a wind guardian or something? Blowing a breeze here and there to drive us mad, and when we turn, he disappears. Were walking here in partial darkness, red glowing lights randomly appear to our left and right, and…"

"Now you got me to think about it. I hope we're not being chased, though. Still, I wonder if he made it to the lake safely."

They hasten their pace a little, and reach a small clearing. Large, half-buried rocks litter the grassy clearing. "What do ya say, Gramps? We've been walking for almost two hours; let's take a break." Gramps nods.

Gramps sits on a rock, but accidentally breaks it due to his weight. "Gramps, that wasn't a rock; it was compressed dirt. Here, sit on this one."

So, Gramps sit on a **real** rock now, and takes out a sushi lunch. Kino, although a little hungry, lies on his back to watch the stars. About ten minutes into their rest, they hear whispering a little far off to the south. Kino gets up and snaps his ice scalpels in place, and slow walks toward the noise. He turns to see if Gramps is following, but finds him is immersed in his food while ignoring the noise. Kino glares at him and purses his lips. "Muktuk and his sushi. Figures."

Kino took advantage of the shadows to hide, in case they were being spied on. "I wonder if leaving Gramps alone is a good idea," he thought, "But he's a big boy now." He snickers. "A really, **really, really,** big boy." He then bites his lips and closes his eyes. "Focus now, Kino. It's no time for put downs, as tempting and satisfying as they are."

He reaches a tall rock near the entrance of the forest, and hears a conversation coming from behind. He creeps up silently, as he listens in.

"Are you sure it's them? They don't seem as menacing in real life."

"Well, they look close enough. And this 'Don' guy is not with them."

"Why did you bring Chika with us? You better not have forgotten to hire the babysitter again!"

"Well, um, you see…"

Kino jumped out hastily, and made his voice slightly deeper, yelling, "Who are you?" We see three grasshopper-like Caelifians, two older males and a baby female. They point their flashlights at Kino's face and screamed. The lights blinded Kino, making him furrow his brows, close his left eye, and tries to shield his eye from the light. His scalpels were still out.

The two guys shrieked, and their eyes popped out, as they see Kino askew, like if he was a maniac surgeon. "HE LOOKS EXACTLY THE SAME!"

"SO SCARY!"

They both ran of into the forest, leaving behind the little girl. She let out babyish giggles, and smiled at Kino. Her innocent bug eyes glistened in the moonlights, her adorable baby tooth stuck out of her smile. Gramps arrived shortly as Kino's sight stabilized. "Um, you okay?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK? Those idiots almost blasted out my eardrums. Uh, my ears."

Gramps sees the little Caelifian girl waddling towards him. "Oh, who would you be, cute little girl?" he sweetly says as he goes to pick up the girl.

"Cute girl? Where?" says Kino excitedly. He then sees the baby in Gramps arms and pouts. "Oh, a baby. What dumb luck!"

"Is that all you think of, dude? Hitting on the ladies?"

"No," responded Kino, while making a lecherous face. Gramps closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't even want to know."

A bluish, three-fingered hand reached out from a tall bush near Dolphinius, and snatched the baby Caelifian in. "I guess whoever you scared came back for her," declared Gramps, "Too bad you can't tell colors apart much at night."

"It don't matter much anyway, Gramps." Kino's stomach grumbles, prompting him to sigh. "All that screaming made me hungry."

"Um, since you were gone for a while," said Gramps nervously while poking the tips of his flippers, "I ate all of your food."

Kino expressionlessly stares at Gramps, obviously upset, to which he flatly responds, "I was only gone for less than 10 minutes."

Gramps just sucked in his lips and looked away. He continues, "Considering that everything so far has made no sense to me whatsoever, I hardly find that surprising."

With nothing else to fight about, they go back to the rock to pick up their belongings and continue their walk. They enter the foggy side of the forest, which was on the opposite side of the half the two young men originally exited from. Gramps was afraid to get lost or end up walking in circles. Kino, on the other hand, stopped and looked around. "Gramps, there is a body of water flowing northward, some feet from here."

"You sure? I can't hear anything."

"It's my ability, you dork. The flow of the water is affecting the atmospheric pressure. It shouldn't take too long to reach the shore."

"Did you have to insult me? Not that I really care."

"I'm still angry about my food! My stomach is still grumbling, you know!"

They reach the shore, and saw a cliff at a distance. "Isn't this the place Josin was going to?" asked Gramps.

"Talk about unfair! He made us walk all around for nothing!"

"We had to split up to gather info. And if the enemy defeated a group, the rest would continue the quest. Do you pay attention to anything Josin says?"

"Uh, no, I don't."

"A typical airhead Ph. D. Figures."

Kino's jaw drops as Gramps turns and meditatively stares into the distance. Just then, they see a bag-looking object floating away from the arena.

"Gramps go get it. You can swim among whirlpool; you said that yourself."

"Are you crazy? You know what'll happen if I swim after I eat?"

"Oh, right. Sorry 'bout that."

They squint their eyes to get a better look. It looked like a yoshi-like body floating on top of something red inside this bag. "That looks like the party maniac. Or it could be that they defeated the blue yoshi woman… with red sticks from these trees?" He points at the reddish bark of the nearby trees.

"I don't know Kino. It looks too broad shouldered to be a woman. And who knows if that is really red. We can't tell colors apart much, especially with this fog hanging around."

"For all we know, some litter bug could have just thrown that trash bag into the water. The environmentally friendly insects are going to flip once they find out."

"It really looks like a body in there. I guess we need to trust our friends more. They could have already defeated that blue woman, and encased her in, I don't know, some plasma bag. Let's just go to the rendezvous point and wait there."

"Gramps, I just remembered."

"What is it this time?" Gramps responded calmly.

"What if were being stalked by the wind guardian?"

"For crying out loud, Kino. You probably would have noticed by now with that technique of yours. You even described it yourself."

Kino once more expressionlessly stares at Gramps. "I hate you."

**Fanfic Trivia:** - Caelifera is an insect suborder for the grasshopper family. Caelifians are the grasshopper clan.

- The planet where this takes place is part of a binary star system. Also, many moons rotate around the planet.

- Dolphinius' (a.k.a. Gramps) favorite food is sushi.


	14. Chapter 13 – Roundhouse Razor Kick

**Chapter 13 – Roundhouse Razor Kick: Tsunami**

Llunami is erupting blasts of water from the tattered floor of the arena. Sheila is quickly dodging all of Llunami's attacks, but is bruised and bleeding lightly. Sheila's loose pants are slightly torn, and her midriff became exposed after a blast of water ripped her blouse. "I can't dodge all day," she thought, "but I don't have an opening."

"You're such a bore! All you do is dodge!" declared Llunami, "How I wish it was that kyogonian man I'd be battling now and you inside my _Plasma Coffin_! Looking at those abs of his would have been…"

"You floozy," retorted Sheila, "Is guys all you think about? Have you no shame or self-esteem?"

"The only shame I will ever have is if I get defeated by Ms. Decency! And I only have eyes for handsome men."

When she heard handsome men, she thought, "She is thinking of Sal." She silently but comically sheds tears and clasps her hands together as she continues, "I hope he wasn't killed. But what if I…?" Her eyes widen, then, she smirks. She tilts her head back slightly and covers her eyes with her left arm. She puts her right arm over her heart, and states, "I get it now, you sleaze. Then… Sal got sent to a watery death, and by ripping my outfit slowly to shreds, you are trying to remember the hot looks of my late brother? Weird and desperate! But, please, allow me to mourn him."

Llunami becomes furious, and turns her right arm into liquid. "You ***!"

She sends her watery limb at Sheila. Sheila smiles and kicks up an arrowhead used earlier in the fight. She grabs it in midair and stabs Llunami's aqua arm, as she says with a grin, "_Disabil_." Llunami emits a blood curdling shriek, and pulled back her arm. She pulls out the inserted arrowhead, but did not notice Sheila had reached her. Sheila jumps and spins forward; she kicks Llunami face first into the inundated court and lands afar, to Llunami's back.

"I knew it! If I insulted you, your emotions would cloud your concentration. And by making you attack, an opening was made. If you really took Sal down and he's gone for good…" Sheila tears up. "You're going with him."

Llunami stands and is seething in rage. "I'll give you that you got me good," she utters, "But… IT WILL BE YOU JOINING HIM!"

She wall kicks with her left leg into a nearby wall. A sizeable waterfall flows in front of her from above. As she prepares to kick again, she yells, "Be ready to get sliced by a force said to cut islands!" She kicks the cascade flow toward Sheila with her right leg. "_Roundhouse Razor Kick: Tsunami_!"

_Back at the Cavern of the Guild Shrine…_

"I was looking forward to leaning more from Mr. Virginio," stated Josin.

Guillian silently looked forward as the both were leaving the Guild Shrine. Some of the torches previously lit in the musty cavern were almost out of fuel.

"So, uh, Guillian, why are you so serious? I get your whole kyogonian guy thing, but…"

"You're not familiar to me. We may be allies, and you may be my brother's friend, but that does not mean you're my friend."

"O-kay. Then, can you explain why you called him 'revered one'? I've only of the title 'Honorable' used back in my kingdom for the Twelve Guardians."

Guillian stops and sighs. He turns slightly right, and stares at Josin from the corner of his eyes. "Your kingdom lacks respect for their elderly people. Your nation may be okay with calling the elderly 'Mr.' or 'Ms.', but in my kingdom, you'd be slapped three days from today. Old age, as you may call it, is known as the revered age by my people, and by extension, we call those in that age group revered one."

"Wow," Josin responds, "I had no idea. I really need to go out more." He clenches his fists in excitement. "This is the first time I have been outside my hometown; I can not wait to see what awaits me everywhere."

"I've been around most of the world almost three times, Josin. So, seeing you being naive about the world is not astounding. But I'll trust that you'll handle it better than my brother."

Josin calms down a bit, worrying a little for his friends' wellbeing. "I wonder how everybody is doing."

"You shouldn't worry about them if you had enough confidence in splitting up. But considering certain facts, I bet my brother already got defeated by that woman already."

Josin just shook his head in agreement. "You really know Phello very well. I can not tell you how many times I went to where the riot he caused took place, to rescue him. Almost always, he was being groped by some random guy's girl. I always tell him: 'Duty before hormones.' He never listen to me, though."

Guillian sighs again, however, in disappointment. "Hearing that makes me… uncertain, about the future of the kingdom. I'll wait to see if he'll change." Guillian meditated for a bit. "Speaking of duty, if we don't hurry and deliver this item, it might be too late. Let's hurry!"

"Right."

They both started to run; their aim was that fork they had reached earlier. When they were about to reach the fork, Guillian stops abruptly and stops Josin with his right arm. A large blade of water ripped through the cavern, dashing a hairline distance from their faces. Guillian remains unfazed, while Josin gasps silently. They darted as the dirt slowly turned into mud, which caused the cavern to start collapsing. Josin thought as they turned the corner and continued to the Culexian Arena, "If that woman was strong enough to do this, then in no doubt she can flood this entire port. I must hurry to Phello and Sheila; they need this Golden Breastplate."

Guillian said while the ran, "To think she possessed one of the seven _Body Enigma _techniques invented by the first guardian of the element of mystery, the 'Smoke Veil' Honorable Samgar Muji of the First Generation of Guardians. What we witnessed was the _Roundhouse Razor Kick_, a right legged kick that can cause a mudslide, avalanche, tsunami, or jet stream, depending what you kick. Now that we're battling the Twelve Guardians, we'll probably see these lethal techniques more often than I did in my tours."

Josin "You are kidding, right? First, strong villains with deadly elements, and now, legendary combat moves? What is next, immortals?"

Guillian calmly replies, "That wouldn't surprise me."

"Well, you are emotionally dead, except for maybe anger."

"As long as we win this war, my personality flaws are only trivialities. About these combat moves, some are used as last resort, since they heavily strain the body, but they all have a chance that whoever is hit will die, some are even one shot kills."

Josin lightly gulps as his eyes widen. "Although I graduated an elite fighter, I never thought I would be forced to fight to death. The thought itself is just frightening."

"You should always focus and trust your abilities, as well as your allies' abilities. Remember, there are no rules in war, so you need a clear mind to be ready for anything." A lit area is being reached. "We are reaching the battlefield. Get ready."

_In the Culexian Arena…_

Sheila frantically and narrowly dodged the speeding wave caused by the kick. The cannon-like burst cut into the wall of the arena; mud started seeping through the crevice.

Llunami chuckled as she holds on to her wound. "Not bad. You're the first to survive against me. And you'll be the last. Savor your last breaths." She maniacally smiles. "It's all underwater from now on." She hurls a sphere of water. "_Ted's Aqua Cannonball_!"

A familiar voice is heard from the highest and furthest spectator stands. "Sheila, catch!"

Sheila turns to see Guillian already have thrown a golden object. She catches it; however, Llunami's water ball has almost collided with her. "Too late, sister," whispered Llunami with a sneer.

To everyone's surprise (except for Guillian, who isn't), the sphere smashed into the breastplate, which had shielded Sheila at a blinding speed. Sheila shouts, "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I think the real battle is about to begin!"

**Fanfic Trivia:**

- The some of the _Body Enigma_ techniques are inspired by the ___Rokushiki_moves of _One Piece_. _Roundhouse Razor Kick_ is the equivalent of _Rankyaku_.

- Guillian has never been the continent of exile, Nortimia.

- Sheila's attack, _Disabil_, is a defensive technique that bypasses defense.


	15. Chapter 14 – The Arena Collapses

**Chapter 14 – The Arena Collapses**

"So, a breastplate is now a self activated shield too?" thought Llunami, "So annoying!"

Llunami starts swinging her arms toward Sheila, as if slapping the air. Large balls of water emerged from them, and collided with each other. "Has she become desperate?" thought Sheila, but soon discovered Llunami's attack's true nature. They kept colliding, and became tiny, speeding shrapnel of water that dashed at Sheila at high speed. She quickly shielded herself, and was able to evade much damage, but her left arm was punctured and badly wounded by the assault.

Sheila lowered the Golden Breastplate, to see Llunami had directed a _Roundhouse Razor Kick_ toward her brother and Josin. With little time to react, she thought, "Oh no! Guillian! I wonder if I can save him." She throws the Breastplate at their direction, and yells, "_Disabil: Boomerang_!" A bang from the collision of attacks is heard; the breastplate intercepts the blast in time.

Llunami sneers, and whispers, "Got ya." A surge had formed behind Sheila as soon as she let go of her item. Watery, hand-like limbs lashed at Sheila's left arm and her chest. Sheila yells in pain, which resounded in the building.

"Don't try to save your friends when you can't even save yourself!" shouted Llunami, "Look at his place! That last collision was loud enough to damage the arena. I'll finish you quickly, so say goodbye to your friends here, and hello to that hunky, blue man I slew earlier."

As she finished speaking, we see Guillian unfazed. "Why doesn't this surprise me?" Guillian said about his brother. Josin ignored him and wanted to intervene, but Guillian stopped him. "It's a one-on-one battle. Even though they are women, they are entitled to that too."

Llunami turns and looks at Guillian. She says in an alluring voice, "What a gentleman! And hot like that other kyogonian man. You kyogonian men are all very attractive. Let's get acquainted later, shall we?"

She turns to Sheila, who had her fist clenched in her direction. "Not today, sister," she utters, pummeling Sheila with more watery shrapnel. "You like this? This attack is my _Aqua Turret_, and if you don't move now, you'll have more holes in your body than our moons have craters."

Sheila catches the Breastplate in the nick of time and shields herself again, but is severely wounded. She is panting heavily as she thinks, "That wave attack from when we started fighting, the _Surging Sea Worm_, has again gotten me good. I wondered if 'that' worked."

"Stop breathing already!" snapped Llunami, kicking the water of the flooded arena with her right leg. The attack hit Sheila, but was not as strong as before. Sheila was shaking as she tried to get on her knees.

"Not as strong as before. Are you getting tired?" asked Sheila as she glared at Llunami, grinning.

"What? Arg! You just barked up the wrong tree there. Now die! _Plasma Coff…_"

Llunami's eyes widen, and she falls on her knees, shaking. "What did you just do to me?"

Sheila stood up in pain. "I didn't do anything 'just' now. It was when I defended my friends over there. When you kicked at them, I had little time to do something. I surprised myself that I was able to pull something like that when it has a 10% chance of working."

"What was it?" demanded Llunami.

"When I studied defense, I was taught a technique, _Silent Weapons_, which hides weapons in the shadows of a seemingly harmless defense item. Take a feel to your back."

Llunami touches her back, and discovers arrows lodged into it. She then looks at her hands and finds them stained in blood.

"I was lucky that you turned toward me when I clenched my fist; had you not, you would have seen and been ready. Since I used _Disabil_ on the Breastplate, the arrows penetrated your defense. The power of your boots may have amplified your power, but even you couldn't defend yourself from a soundless attack like that. The more you moved, the deeper there arrow incrusted themselves. Now, I believe it is I who will end this battle."

"It was all part of her plan?" Llunami thought, "To be outsmarted by an inexperienced brat like her, is… HUMILIATING!" She stood as well, and shrieked, "We'll see about that! This ends in one attack!"

She lunges forward, overflowing with rage. Sheila disposes herself of her bow and remains calm. Llunami was inches away from Sheila, when Sheila kicks Llunami in her abdomen. She uttered, "_Force Repulse,_" and sent Llunami forcefully flying to a wall which was the arena's main pillar. Sheila's yell of pain is accompanied by a loud crack, and she thinks, "With _Force Repulse,_ I can send a being back with the same force they attacked me with, but I still absorb part of the shock."

Llunami crashed on the wall, destroying it, and passes out. The arena starts to collapse. "You made a fighter's most elementary mistake," said Sheila as she falls on a knee, "If you let your emotions cloud your thoughts, it's a sure checkmate for you."

"Sheila, we're leaving," said Guillian who had flown over to her. The cascading waters were beginning to rain in on them, and the falling ceiling added to their predicament. Guillian carried her as he told Josin, "Hop on. We don't have much time."

Josin hopped on Guillian's back, much to his disgust. As an agile and veteran flyer, he dodged all the incoming slabs falling on them. When they were about to reach the exit, it collapsed in front of them. He lands and Josin gets off.

Guillian calmly says, "Oh well, guess it ends here."

"I will take care of this," said Josin. He quickly electrified his hands, and pointed them up. "_Defense Circuit: Breaker_."

The entire building went down, while many insect onlookers watched. A certain pile of rubble stood out in that it was shaking due to a strong force. It was seemingly pushed off, with Josin saying exhaustedly, "Wow, that was scary. I forcefully learned this technique because of a landslide."

"Who cares now," said Guillian, "Look all around."

The water level of the area had lowered to normal levels and much of the city was exposed once more. Sheila tried to stand.

"Oww! My foot! It must be sprained."

"It's okay, little sister, I'll carry you."

Josin fell on his back, panting with his tongue sticking out.

"Josin, you'd better stick that tongue back in. Yoshi tongues are famous for being sticky."

As he finished saying that, a bunch of culexians landed on his tongue, making him spit them out instantly. A sizable group of beings, the caelifians, started to gather around. This startled Josin.

"What, gathsoppath?" he said with a swollen tongue, "Whea dud duhie come thom?"

"You ignorant, they're not grasshoppers," retorted Guillian, "These are caelifians who were forced out of their town because of the flooding."

"Indeed, we we're forced to flee from this catastrophe," said an older caelifian, "But we must ask you all to leave immediately. We'll start reconstruction at sun up."

"We save this town, and this is what we get?" snapped Guillian.

"I'm sorry for asking such a thing," replies the caelifian, "We're grateful for this honorable deed, but we have no other choice. The forest sheltered us for a while, but we've weakened because of that. Please, you must leave but you have our eternal gratitude."

Josin's tongue went back to normal, and said, "Let us go. There must be a reason for all this. Besides we can not stop while there is still war. Say, Guillian, can you also carry me. Our meeting place is southwest of here, and…"

"I'll only carry you if you're dead. Stop whining and get going."

Josin sighs. "Guess no freebie now. Let us get going, then." He stood up exhausted from saving his friends from a sure death. The sun is rising as they head to the rendezvous point.

**Fanfic Trivia:**

- In the Yoshi Kingdom, you go to school up to the 8th grade. College is mandatory 4 years afterwards.

- Guillian would have killed Josin if he had to carry him for a third time.

- You can major in Battle in most universities in the Yoshi Kingdom.


	16. Chapter 15 – A Great First Meeting…

**Chapter 15 – A Great First Meeting…No, not Really**

The dawn is breaking, and the murmuring chirps heard throughout the heavily forested area are slowly starting to cease. Guillian is carrying his wounded sister in his arms, as he and Josin walk toward the rendezvous area, some distance to the west. Kino and Dolphinius are waiting on a hardwood log. Dolphinius had been recently woken up by Kino's wake up call. Josin smiles as he waves at them.

"Gramps! Kino!"

Gramps smiles and waves back, responding, "It is about time we got together again! Talk about making us wait."

"Yo, Josin!" replied Kino, "I see you got some booty."

Josin holds up the breastplate and the boots up, catching the light of the binary stars, their sheen partially blinds Kino, who yells in pain.

"Oww! Great! I can somehow hear those pansies' pathetic screams again, the ones we met earlier."

Gramps' smile disappears when he sees Sheila injured. "Kino, umm, Sheila needs help."

Kino sees her and grips his heart; he amorously says as he leaps forward, "My sweet little Sheila, the sight of you hurting, puts my heart in p… AAAAAH! FIRE!"

Right before Kino could get closer, Guillian lifted his right index finger, and a tiny fire formed at the tip. Kino ran back, and hid behind Gramps. "Get that flame away from me, you jerk!"

"So, you're an ice style fighter, I take it?" asked the stoic kyogonian, "I was wondering why a scrawny loser like you would survive a drafty morning chill."

"Guillian," interrupted Josin, "These are my friends who, with me and your siblings, are fighting for peace to befall us all. The toad is Dr. Kino Arcie Tola, and Dolphinius is the dolphin from blue dolphin clan. We all call him Gramps."

"Dolphinius is black and white," uttered Guillian, to Gramps' dismay.

"It's a long story," replied Josin. "I'm sure we will have time to talk on our way to Oaisia. But, Phello has not arrived yet. I wonder where he is at."

Right on cue, Phello flew in on them. "Thanks for rescuing me from that plasma trap, you ice pick perv and you, Mr. Bellyfat!"

"Oh, I'm so insulted, you party psycho!" retorted Kino.

Gramps then said, "Um, Phello, you know I like being… Wait! That was **you** inside that bag thing? Ha, ha, ha! You always get yourself in a pickle, don't ya?"

"So I was right," interjected Guillian, "This Llunami chick got you good, and later tried to kill you." He scoffs. "Typical airhead party lover."

Phello angrily pouts at Guillian, while Kino says, "Ha! I thought that freak inside that bag looked familiar. If you can't even resist a lovely woman in our journey, then just go back to your palace and suck on your thumb."

"Says the perverted death cap who's forgotten we have an injured lady here," Guillian riposted.

Sheila groaned silently in pain as Kino hurried to her aid. Phello sat next to Gramps, and Josin, who had set up a fire during the quite happy reunion, was starting to brew tea. Guillian sat on a nearby rock and was on the lookout.

While Kino was bandaging Sheila, Guillian declared, "Fighting another idiot while forgetting his duties. A typical young Ph.D. They think they are so smart, but at the end, they are just as absent minded as everyone else, probably more so."

Everyone became shocked, since Guillian had only met Kino no more than 5 minutes ago. Josin almost spilled hot tea on Gramps, and Sheila didn't even flinch when an astonished Kino wrapped her arm a little too tight.

Kino seemingly shook it off and replied calmly, "Ahem, I don't know who taught you manners, but my mother always had a saying in times like these." Kino closes his eyes and points upward. "'If you got nothing nice to say…'"

Guillian turned slightly and interrupted with a deadpan voice, "Say it anyway so that egotistical fools that believe that everything is hunky dory will come face to face to reality." Kino opens his eyes and jutted his jaw, unamused.

Josin tried to ease the tension. "So anyway, Phello, how did you manage to get back here?"

Phello turns to Josin, and smiled with relief. "Glad you were worried enough to ask. To start…"

Phello started to recollect his defeat. "Llunami whispered into my ear, 'You are so very hot, and it hurts me to have to kill you, but you are probably here to obstruct me. Farewell. _Plasma Coffin_.' She encased me inside her technique, and started to move like if was desperately wanted to breathe. She looked at me, and seemed to say something but I couldn't hear a word. Then she blew a kiss and winked; I got to admit, he, he; it made me blush."

"Just continue your defeat," said Guillian.

Phello was clearly embarrassed. "Hey, shut up. Anyway, what she didn't count on was that I was able to use wind. As she trapped me, I thinly veiled myself in air, and pretended to drown so I could escape later when she left. After she left, I waited, and was immediately washed out of that room. I was knocked out for a minute or two, and later found myself floating, under the moons. I saw Kino and Gramps at a distance. They looked at me, then Kino pointed at the tree, and then… then they left me to float to my doom!"

Kino and Gramps laughed when Phello said that. "So it was you!" uttered Gramps, "Back then we even thought you were a bag of trash."

"Either way, it doesn't make a difference!" Kino said mockingly.

"Thank you for being the best of friends, you jerks!" Phello snapped.

Before Sheila could say anything in Phello's defense, Josin motioned Phello to finish. Phello continues, "I'll get you two next time. Ahem. So there I was, floating away. I knew if I tried to splash it off, it would be useless. So I…"

"Used the _Gust Blades_ technique to cut it open from the inside out, and then you flew your butt over here," interjected Guillian.

Phello unhappily replied, "Thanks for stealing the thunder from my tale."

"There isn't much to your story anyway, Salemence," responded Guillian, "In short, you were groped by the enemy, tossed out like garbage, and you had a trick up your sleeve, only to be useless and come back here. If you continue like that, you'll tear down the kingdom in a flash from your uselessness."

Phello hangs his head in depression. "Come on, Guillian," said Josin optimistically, "We just met and you are already bashing us mercilessly. We are not in the military, you know."

"If you were, I'd had already beat the kiddy snot out of all of you, and turn you into real men."

"Real men, or emotionless beings with no social life?" Kino said with the same emotion as Guillian. Guillian looks at him with silent irritation and had the intention to hurt him.

Josin sighed and states, "Guillian, you are supposed to be the older adult here. Kino, if you behave like a smart aleck with a no nonsense being, you will have wished you had not."

Guillian replies, "Sorry 'bout that. I'm not used to being talked down by junior officers." Gramps says dismayed, "I wonder when we will actually fight together instead of each other."

Some nearby bushes rustle. Both Guillian and Josin donned a fighting stance, while Kino snapped his fingers, revealing his _Ice Scalpel._ Phello and Gramps stood near Sheila. Guillian began stating, "You there! Come out…," but Josin motioned him to keep his peace. He says courteously, "If you have good intentions, please, come out and hold your arms behind your back."

"I can't do that," a female voice replied. They all look at each other. The five guys were ready to pounce when the voice continued, "My little daughter is in my arms. She wanted to say goodbye to the black and white dolphin."

A caelifian woman and her baby daughter walk out of the bush. "I remember her," said Gramps as the little girl, now on the ground, waddled toward him. He picks her up as she let's out a giggle, and says, "Aren't you the cutest little thing? What was your name again… Uh… Chika!"

"Aw, you look so adorable carrying that little girl!" exclaimed Sheila, "Who knew you were so good with kids!" Gramps blushed, while Kino made a defeated expression.

The caelifian woman pulled a bottle filled with a green liquid out of her purse and gave it to Gramps. "She must really like you; she usually cries with strangers. Anyway, I came to apologize for my people's reception. As a clan, we have weak immune systems, and will get sick if we come in contact with foreigners. My husband, brother-in-law, and I seem to not be affected though. We all appreciate your efforts and…" She saw Kino and squealed in excitement. "Dr. Tola! I'm a big fan ever since I saw you in the newspaper some time ago. I wanted to be a doctor too, but I got married, and…" She looks at her daughter being feed by Gramps. She smiles and says, "Have not regretted it. Oh, I'm sorry. I startled you. Please, can I have an autograph?"

She hand Kino a roll of paper and a pen. He was flabbergasted by the request, and hurriedly opened the scroll, only to become horrified of its content. It was a wanted poster for him, posted as the "Mad Ice-pick Doctor." His picture showed him with a deranged look, a wide, drooling mouth, and holding his scalpels as if he was to do an evil experiment on someone.

"WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?" he yelled.

The grasshopper-like lady says, "Oh, I forgot. My husband and brother-in-law got involved in some 'get rich quick' scheme. Basically, you, the dolphin, and the green yoshi over there are now wanted criminals."

**Fanfic Trivia:** - Josin rarely, if at all, speaks with contractions.

- Kino is afraid of deep water and fire.

- Josin likes drinking hot green tea, even in tropical weather.


	17. Chapter 16 – A Woman's Tears

**Chapter 16 – A Woman's Tears: Please Leave**

Everyone was dumbfounded about the news. Guillian, as always, had no change in facial expression, but deep inside was concerned.

Kino is shaking as he holds onto the poster. He then cried, "I hope you're joking, 'cause this ain't funny. If it is, I'll laugh. Uh, maybe."

Phello snatches the poster from Kino, and inspected it. His jaw drops, but little by little, he starts smiling, and then starts snickering. He couldn't contain himself, and drops to the floor laughing.

"Ice-pick Doctor? Ha, ha, ha! How true! You even look the same! Ha, ha!"

"How does that look like me, you blue yoshi rip-off? I don't drool, have a crazy look, or make my mouth look like…"

"That is enough, Kino," interrupted Josin, "What concerns me the most is why we have a price over our heads. It does not make sense that we get disciplined by doing the right thing."

"I'll answer that if you don't mind," replied the caelifian woman, whose name was Leah Locust.

"We're listening," said Guillian.

Leah looks at Gramps, who is still feeding Chika. "Well, Chika'll be fine for now. Hear me well, everyone. My husband lost his job and we lost our home because of the flooding. We were okay while we lived in the forest, but my husband couldn't bring himself to seeing us in this state. I told him not to worry yet, since I heard that some rescuers were coming to save us. But late yesterday, my brother-in-law approached and showed us three wanted posters totaling 2,500,000 gold coins. We saw all of you as you entered, and knew you wouldn't harm us. My husband was desperate; he had the need to obtain this money, even a fraction, to get us back on our feet."

She begins to weep. "He told me that he knew it was wrong, and that the Guardians were supposed to help us in times like these, but we're in a crisis. The ongoing war has severely weakened our kingdom's economy, and with the collapse of the richest port, our doom was sealed. The Guardians issued these posters, and they probably want you all dead, but… How could I criticize my husband's decision? All of these things are against us, and really, and we as a community couldn't bring ourselves to turn in the very beings who gave us a sliver of hope. I beg for forgiveness; we must ask you to leave Siyactus, and never return. I don't want to see us…"

Leah broke down, and Sheila walked over in pain and tried to console her. Gramps gave Chika to Josin while he looked over his poster, deeply saddened. Kino and Phello became furious. Josin tries to rock Ckika to sleep, while Guillian, although angry, keeps his composure.

Guillian sighs, and states, "This is a sad day indeed, when Guardians force beings in great need to decide between their needs and their morality."

Josin says while Chika is falling asleep in his arms, "What a shame! We let our guard down, and now this has to happen." He looks over at Leah, who is calming down. "Thank you for letting us know. We will do our best to destroy this evil so that she [points at Chika] can grow up as a normal child should. It is not much, but please, take my supply bag."

He hands her his bag of items given to him when they first left for the journey.

"Are you sure about this, Josin?" asked Phello, "It's not that I don't want to share, but we also need these supplies."

"We'll get more as we go, Salemence," said Guillian, "They decided to not turn us over to the Guardians, and they have a greater need than we do. Here's my supply bag as well."

Leah said with a still broken voice as she took both bags, "I thank you all. I don't have words to express my eternal gratitude. All I have is this mushroom, specially grown by the late caelifian farmer, Xolix."

She takes a mushroom with a white cap and gold spots out of her purse. Kino sees and grabs it while happily saying, "Whoa, these still exist! I read that, after the Gold and Silver items, this rarity was immensely powerful, so much that one bite heals you completely. I'll experiment with this later."

"I wish I could do more, but giving you all something that is useful to you, but poisonous to my kind is at least something." She takes a slumbering Chika into her arms. "I must return to my husband. I wish you all great success for your journey." With that she disappears into the leaves.

"We must get going as well," said Guillian, "I wouldn't want us to be a target now."

"Aw Guillian," complained Gramps, "We haven't had any breakfast, and I'm hungry."

"He's right," said Kino, "and besides that, why is Josin worth three times more? We became 'criminals' at the same time."

Guillian responds, "How am I supposed to know, perverted death cap? I surmise we'll get to know if we continue." Kino looked annoyed. Guillian continues, "Don't think I forgot your insult yet, Kino. But enough of that for now. Dolphinius is right; we must eat first."

As they finished eating, Phello commented on Gramps' wanted poster. "Hey, Gramps, they got you all messed up here. They probably think you're a perverted old man, dude. 'The Lecherous Gramps?' I wonder if they saw Kino and made him into you. Too bad you're not blue."

"Well, at least they got the fat part right, um, somewhat," replied Gramps, looking at his exaggeratedly big rendition, "I do find it a little annoying that anyone thinks I'm old because I have the color of old men. But, why get mad over petty arguments?"

Kino interjected, "Uh, huh. You instead say stuff like [makes a lispy voice] 'Girls like fluffy.'"

Josin was listening from afar, while being the lookout. Guillian approaches him and sits next to him looking into the same, eastern distance.

"You don't act like your three friends over there do you?" Guillian says, sporting his deadpan expression.

"I got my moments, but yeah, I prefer to be composed."

"You're worth quite a bit as well. 1,500,000 coins."

Josin sighs. "It is a bother. I got it probably because I beat up those wimpy dragons."

"Speaking of that, why did you lie about your name? They even put that name on your wanted poster."

"I thought about what happened in history, and remembered that Honorable Amazonas called himself that instead of his real name while he went to school."

"That was his title, fool. Guardians used to be called that in those times before getting called Honorable."

"I had no time to think, though. What would you have done if you were in my shoes?"

Guillian crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Probably the same. At least you'll be able to hide a little, since it's not your real name." He looks at the sky; it is noon. Guillian stands and faces west. "We better get going. There is a military outpost southwest of here. It's an 8-day walk, so let's go now. We might even find something out."

"Let us leave then. Since we have the bounty problem, I think it is best if we go back to my kingdom's royal council. We can probably pick up useful intel in this base you said."

The party packs everything, and started to travel southwest. Guillian is carrying his sister in his arms.

"Kino, you should give her a bite of that Xolix 'shroom," said Phello.

"Not that I don't want to," said Kino, "but if I did, I would have wasted the other medicines I used. With those, she should be good in a day or two."

"It's okay, Sal," said Sheila, "My body feels fine. Only my leg hurts some."

Josin turns around. "Everyone, this is only the beginning. Some of us are wanted, and we are all up against insanely strong foes. Turning back is not an option we have anymore. Let us not give up, for we have everything to gain."

"Not bad for a rookie," said Guillian.

Josin laughs a bit. "I had a streak going there. Anyway, we are not the final hope, but we are going to do our best. Let us do this!"

_**End of Saga 1: Destruction of Sea Swamp**_

**Fanfic Trivia:**

- Dolphinius (A.K.A Gramps) is similar in appearance as Right Whale dolphins.

**Reader's Question:**

- Someone though about how yoshis age in this story. Every being ages like humans. Time should also be regarded as how it is in real life.


	18. Chapter 17 – From East to West Sands

**Chapter 17 – From Eastern to Western Sands**

Two days after the defeat of Llumani, her body is washed ashore in the secluded, northern beaches of the Kingdom of the Yoshans. Her clothing is tattered, and her bruised body showed no sign of recovery. She is slowly dragging herself further away from the saline, oceanic waters, yet her wounds bore the sharp pains of the gritty, chafing sands. She wanted to rest under a nearby palm, away from the scorching binary stars, which overshadowed fresh grass some fifty feet from the sand. She then could no longer pull herself and caved in, her face in the sand. A figure overshadows her; she thinks, "Did I make it to the tree? Has Bernie or Azure finally found me?"

"I hardly think your comrades will try save you after failing."

Her eyes widen. "That deep voice… is… are you…?" She starts coughing out blood. She crumples in excruciating pain. "This.. Is… nothing. Prepare to…"

"Stop struggling and realize that you'll die without me doing anything. I only came to have a chat and execute my judgment."

She turns around slowly, and her sight is greeted by a tall figure, completely draped from head to toe. Due to the stars blinding her slightly, she couldn't see eyes.

This being proceeds to remove the cloth covering the face, with the hands still hidden from view. The being says as all this is being done, "To see truth in its entirety, one must let go of all bias and see a single truth from its multiple faces. Let's see what caused you to do all of this. Allow me to travel into your memories and walk you around, so you'll be able to see for yourself a complete reality, to find the way out of the labyrinth you call your life."

Her eyes widen even more, her jaw drops in silent awe, her strength flees away. Her voice enveloped in silence when the face is revealed. She then stammers, "It…it's…uh…"

"You must now shush your voice, and contemplate your past, as we travel in your memories."

Llunami felt powerless to even confront that potent, but serene voice. That silently intense standoff seemed to have halted time. Seconds became minutes, and her sentiments of awe turned to shock, then dread, then horror. She trembled in more than just fear. She could no longer sustain another look; tears flowed down her soiled cheeks. "That… couldn't… It never happened like that!" Her forehead hits the sand.

"Naked truth is not necessarily a sight to behold, and you may try to blur your vision to not see. But, no matter how you think it should be, truth is how it is: reality revealed with impartiality." This being extends a hand toward her, but due to the intense light of the binary stars, it is seen enveloped in shadows.

"As much as I don't want to take your life, justice must be executed, for your actions have caused much pain and suffering. Your passion for your cause gave you a blind eye to innocents losing their lives, dreams, and hopes. I'm sure you may have had the best intentions, but now, unfortunately, there is no possibility to redeem yourself. Farewell." A flash shone brighter than both stars. The being is then seen with a petrified statue of Llunami.

_Around the same time, many miles southwest…_

An explosion is heard in a ghost town in the middle of a desert. There is a loud commotion of an incoming mob. A star being, a Westrian woman in karate robes is being chased mercilessly by a group of men trying to take her out. She turns the corner, with one man hot on her trail. He then turns the corner as well.

"Where did she go?" yelled an Easterla man. Easterlas are beings that have a body resembling a yellow ram, a duck's bill, bug eyes, no horns, and rounded hooves. They walk on fours, and strangely, are distant relatives of the star-shaped beings, the Westrians. Five more Easterlas gallop their way near the first.

"I was sure she ran over here!" yelled another.

"I really can't figure out how she escaped us so easily!" a third one said.

"Of course she escaped us," said an obese Toad, "She is the 3rd highest raking officer in Westry's armed forces, 'Sand Fist' Yuhivia Yahiman. I hope that Lady Petra will not find out we lost her for the third time."

A demanding female voice is heard. "So you lost her again, you incompetent dolts? Do you need me to look for the Westrian myself?"

All six of them replied in unison, "No ma'am. We'll look for her once more." They all split up in pairs and start searching in different areas, leaving the female brown yoshi alone.

Petra makes a chair out of the earth and drops into it in frustration. "I thought I was going to capture that woman's brother. Not only can she use the same element as I, but has a deadly _Body Enigma_ technique as well. If I let her defeat my minions, then who'll paint my nails? The desert here in Kuril is huge, and I don't have patience for searches."

In a quiet extreme of the deserted town, Yuhivia rests and is anxious to see if she will be assaulted again. She has her supplies unpacked, but most of it was destroyed in a previous engagement with the enemy faction. Her communication unit was rendered useless, much of the food became contaminated, and her regimen was entirely wiped out.

"I seriously need reinforcements," she thought, "I can probably take those guys on, but that earth fighter worries me, and some of her underlings are formidable opponents as well. I can only last a day or two in these conditions. If I could only reach the oasis 16 miles northwest of here, I'll be able to sort this all out and plan my next move. I want to go back to my native Westry, but I need to rescue my brother, and that earth yoshi might know where he's being held prisoner."

The voice of a man is heard from a little ways away. "Hey, everyone, she's back here!"

Yuhivia thinks, "Great! I've been found! It's now or never!"

She kicks into the sand, and sizable rock protrusions spring up. She then begins to run toward the direction of the oasis. The mob, temporarily stopped by the newly formed rocks, resumed the chase. Shot begin to ring and continue into the night, slowly silencing in the dark distance.

**Fanfic Trivia:**

- Kuril is the name of a disputed archipelago north of Japan. In story, it is the name of a country located in the "chest" area of the Yoshi continent.

- Yuhivia is one of the female characters who was able to reach a high military rank.

- Yuhivia Yahiman is the younger sibling of Svante, who was mention in chapter 6.


End file.
